Claude Cheysson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cheysson in 1980 | |
| Minister of External Affairs | |
| In office 22 May 1981 – 7 December 1984 | |
| President | François Mitterrand |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Mauroy Laurent Fabius |
| Preceded by | Jean François-Poncet |
| Succeeded by | Roland Dumas |
| European Commissioner [Portfolios] | |
| In office 5 January 1985 – 5 January 1989 | |
| President | Jacques Delors |
| Preceded by | Lorenzo Natali |
| Succeeded by | Abel Matutes |
| In office 6 January 1973 – 23 April 1981 | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | Jean-François Deniau |
| Succeeded by | Edgard Pisani |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1920-04-13)13 April 1920 |
| Died | 15 October 2012(2012-10-15) (aged 92) 6th arrondissement of Paris, France |
| Political party | Socialist Party |
| Alma mater | École polytechnique ÉNA |
Claude Cheysson (French pronunciation:[klodʃɛsɔ̃]; 13 April 1920 – 15 October 2012) was a FrenchSocialist politician who served asForeign Minister in the government ofPierre Mauroy from 1981 to 1984.[1]
Cheysson was born inParis and attended theCours Hattemer, a private school.[2] He fled from France during World War II and joined the2nd Armored Division ofGeneral Leclerc, serving as a second lieutenant in the 12th Chasseurs d'Afrique Regiment. He joined the Foreign Ministry in 1948 and became head of the liaison service with the West German authorities the following year. As he moved through the ranks of the Foreign Ministry, he served as counsellor to the president of the government ofFrench Indochina in 1952, cabinet chief ofPremierPierre Mendès France from 1954 to 1955, and general secretary of the Commission for Technical Cooperation in Africa from 1957 to 1962. He was director of theOrganisme Saharien from 1962 until 1965, and ambassador toIndonesia from 1966 to 1969.
In 1973, Cheysson was appointed the FrenchEuropean Commissioner. His first post, which he held until 1977, was in charge of development policy, cooperation,budgets, and financial control. From 1977 until 1981, he took on the development portfolio.
In 1981 he left the commission and became a member of the French Government, serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs until 1984. (The ministry was renamed as the Ministry of External Relations, but the previous name was re-established in 1986.) He joined theDelors Commission, where he was responsible forMediterranean policy and north–south relations, from 1985 to 1989.
By 1999, Cheysson joined theCollectif Liberté pour l'Afghanistan, an organization lobbying for the West to stop tolerating theTaliban and "Osama bin Laden, the millionaireSaudi financier of terror".[3]
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| Preceded by | Minister of External Affairs 1981–1984 | Succeeded by |
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