Danielle Mitterrand

Danielle Mitterrand
Born Danielle Émilienne Isabelle Gouze
(1924-10-29)29 October 1924
Verdun, Meuse
Died 22 November 2011(2011-11-22) (aged 87)
Paris, Île-de-France
Spouse(s) François Mitterrand (m. 1944; d. 1996)
Children Pascal Mitterrand (1945–1945)
Jean-Christophe Mitterrand (b. 1946)
Gilbert Mitterrand (b. 1949)

Danielle Mitterrand (born Danielle Émilienne Isabelle Gouze; 29 October 1924 – 22 November 2011) was the wife of French President François Mitterrand, and president of the foundation France Libertés Fondation Danielle Mitterrand.[1]

Background

When she was seventeen years old, her family (her parents were teachers) aided the French Resistance and helped lodge men of the Maquis (French Resistance), and she became a liaison officer in the Resistance. She met François Mitterrand there, and married him three months after the Liberation, on 28 October 1944.[1]

She created the France-Libertés Foundation in 1986, when she was First Lady, with the fusion of three smaller associations which had been established in 1981.[1] In 1996 Madame Mitterrand was one of the winners of the North–South Prize.[2]

Danielle Mitterrand had three sons: Pascal (who died in childhood), Jean-Christophe and Gilbert Mitterrand.[1]

Opinions

Mrs. Mitterrand was a longtime supporter of Cuba and its Marxist–Leninist government.[3] However, during Fidel Castro's 1995 visit to France, she also helped secure the release of imprisoned Cuban dissident Yndamiro Restano Díaz, who was reportedly freed at her request.[4][5] She was also a supporter of the ANC and the anti apartheid movement.[6]

She also supported the Sandinistas when her late husband gave them military aid in their war against US-backed forces in Nicaragua.[7] She was very critical with respect to Turkey, opposing its accession to the European Union and supportive of the Kurdistan independence movement.[8] She voiced her views in favour of Sahrawi separatists,[9] Subcomandante Marcos,[10] and the Tibetan people,[11] among others.

As First Lady, she spoke up against human rights violations, including in countries with which the French government was seeking to maintain good relations; she earned the ire both of the Chinese government and of King Hassan II of Morocco, in particular. Her France-Libertés Foundation provided financial support to local human rights initiatives abroad, and also financed access to medicine and education in poor countries.[1]

She supported a "no" vote in the 2005 French referendum on the European Constitution: "I denounce the power of the economy over people, a system that turns individuals into elements in an economic equation, does not respect the poor and excludes everyone that does not live up to the principle of profitability." [12]

Works

Honours

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The French International School MLF Danielle Mitterrand in Iraqi Kurdistan is named after her.[13]

Foreign honours

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Danielle Mitterrand, les combats d'une militante", Le Monde, 22 November 2011
  2. ↑ "The North South Prize of Lisbon". North-South Centre. Council of Europe. Archived from the original on 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  3. ↑ http://www.trabajadores.cu/news/ingles/danielle-mitterrand-in-cuba. Retrieved December 9, 2007. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ "World News Briefs;Havana Releases A Second Dissident". The New York Times. 2 June 1995. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Roberto Fabricio (15 October 1995). "Switch Hitting". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  6. ↑ MANDELA, Nelson, "The Long Walk To Freedom", 1994, page 523.
  7. ↑ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n1_v40/ai_6284469/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ "Cyprus News Agency: News in English (AM), 99-03-10". Hri.org. 1999-03-10. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  9. ↑ "afrol News - Systematic maltreatments revealed in Saharawi camps". Afrol.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  10. ↑ Smith, David (11 March 2001). "Mexico waits for the masked crusader". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  11. ↑ "Danielle Mitterrand, Hugh Richardson and Richard Blum to Receive ICT's Light of Truth Awards | International Campaign for Tibet". Savetibet.org. 1999-10-04. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  12. ↑ Francois Mitterrand's Widow Says, "I Will Vote No" Spiegel-Interview with Danielle Mitterrand, 05/23/2005
  13. ↑ "Consul Generals discuss developments and initiatives in Kurdistan" (Archive). Kurdistan Regional Government Department of Foreign Relations. Thursday March 15, 2012. Retrieved on April 27, 2015.
  14. ↑ Volks krant, State visit of Netherlands in France (Mitterrand), 1991, Group Photo
  15. ↑ Photo of the state in Sweden, Danielle Mitterrand : Polar Star
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