Lionel Jospin Short biography
Lionel Jospin is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. He was the First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in the 1995 and 2002 elections.
Jospin was born to a Protestant family in Meudon, Seine (nowadays Hauts-de-Seine), a suburb of Paris. He attended the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly before studying at Sciences Po and the École nationale d'administration (ÉNA). He was active in the UNEF students' union, protesting against the war in Algeria (1954–1962). He completed his military service as an officer in charge of armoured training in Trier, Germany.
After graduating from the ENA in 1965, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as secretary of Foreign Affairs. He became in charge of economic cooperation there, and worked with Ernest-Antoine Seillière, future leader of the MEDEF employers' union.
In 1981, Jospin was elected First Secretary of the Socialist Party. He served in this role until 1988, when he was appointed Minister of Education.
In 1995, Jospin was the Socialist candidate for President of France. He narrowly lost the election to Jacques Chirac.
In 1997, Jospin became Prime Minister of France. He served in this role until 2002. During his time as Prime Minister, Jospin introduced a number of progressive policies, including the 35-hour workweek, increased social security benefits, and the creation of a civil partnership for same-sex couples.
In 2002, Jospin ran for President of France again. He finished third in the first round of voting, behind Chirac and far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen. Jospin then announced his retirement from politics.
