Danielle Émilienne Isabelle Mitterrand (née Gouze; 29 October 1924 – 22 November 2011) was the wife of
French President
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
, and president of the foundation
France Libertés Fondation Danielle Mitterrand.
["Danielle Mitterrand, les combats d'une militante"](_blank)
''Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'', 22 November 2011
Biography
Danielle Émilienne Isabelle Gouze was born on 29 October 1924 in Verdun, in the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
. Her father, Antoine Gouze (1885-1958), was a college principal. Her mother, born Renée Flachot (1890-1971), was a teacher. Her parents were secularists, Republicans and
French Section of the Workers' International
The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...
(SFIO) activists. In 1940, Antoine Gouze refused to list, as he was asked, the
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
students and teachers of his college and was dismissed by the
Vichy
Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais.
It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...
government. He then moved to Cluny where he gave private lessons.
During the years 1940–1942, her family regularly housed in hiding members of the Resistance Combat network, including its leader, Henri Frenay.
Background
When she was seventeen years old, her family (her parents were teachers) aided the
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
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
Liberation or liberate may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War
* "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode
* "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode
Gaming
* '' Liberati ...
, on 28 October 1944.
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.
In 1996 Mitterrand was one of the winners of the
North–South Prize
The North–South Prize is awarded annually by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe to two public figures who are recognised for their deep commitment, outstanding achievements and hope they have generated in the field of protection of h ...
.
Mitterrand had three sons: Pascal (who died in childhood),
Jean-Christophe
''Jean-Christophe'' (1904‒1912) is the novel in 10 volumes by Romain Rolland for which he received the Prix Femina in 1905 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915. It was translated into English by Gilbert Cannan.
The first four volumes ar ...
and Gilbert Mitterrand.
Opinions
Mitterrand was a longtime supporter of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and its
Marxist–Leninist
Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...
government. However, during
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
's 1995 visit to France, she also helped secure the release of imprisoned Cuban dissident
Yndamiro Restano Díaz
Yndamiro Restano Díaz (born c. 1948) is a Cuban dissident journalist and poet who has won the 1996 Golden Pen of Freedom Award of the World Association of Newspapers and a 1994 International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Jo ...
, who was reportedly freed at her request.
She was also a supporter of the
ANC
The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
and the anti apartheid movement in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
She also supported the
Sandinistas
The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto Cé ...
when her husband gave them military aid in their war against
US-backed forces in
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
. She was very critical of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, opposing its accession to the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and supportive of the
Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...
independence movement. She voiced her views in favour of
Sahrawi separatists, Mexican insurgent
Subcomandante Marcos
Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente (born 19 June 1957) is a Mexican insurgent, the former military leader and spokesman for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in the ongoing Chiapas conflict,Pasztor, S. B. (2004). Marcos, Subcomand ...
, and the
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live ...
, among others.
As First Lady, she spoke out 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
Hassan II ( ar, الحسن الثاني, translit=al-Ḥasan aṯ-ṯhānī;), with the prefix "Mulay" before his enthronement 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was the King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999.
He was a member of the 'Ala ...
, 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.
She supported a "no" vote in the 2005
French referendum on the European Constitution
The French referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was held on 29 May 2005 to decide whether France should ratify the proposed Constitution of the European Union. The result was a victory for the "No" campaign, with 55% ...
: "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".
Works
* ''These men are first our brothers'' (''Ces hommes sont avant tout nos frères''), Ramsay, 1996, on the Indians of
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
* ''Torture in Tunisia: Committee for freedom and human rights in Tunisia'' (''La torture en Tunisie : Comité pour le respect des libertés et des droits de l’homme en Tunisie''), Le temps des cerises, 2000
Honours
The ''
French International School MLF Danielle Mitterrand'' in Iraqi Kurdistan is named after her.
Foreign honours
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of the Crown (1991)
[Volks krant, State visit of Netherlands in France (Mitterrand), 1991]
Group Photo
* :
Order of Gabriela Silang
The Order of Gabriela Silang ( fil, Orden ni Gabriela Silang) is an all-female order of the Philippines founded on September 19, 2003.[Order of the Polar Star
The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim.
The Order of the ...](_blan ...<br></span></div> (11 July 1989)
* : Commander Grand Cross of the <div class=)
(11 May 1984)
Photo
of the state in Sweden, Danielle Mitterrand : Polar Star
References
External links
France Libertés Fondation Danielle Mitterrand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitterrand, Danielle
French activists
French women activists
.
Spouses of French presidents
1924 births
2011 deaths
Female resistance members of World War II
French Resistance members
People from Verdun
Tibet freedom activists
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands)
Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star
20th-century French politicians
21st-century French politicians
French women in World War II
20th-century French women
Mitterrand family