Claude Cheysson (; 13 April 1920 – 15 October 2012) was a French

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

politician who served as

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

in the government of

Pierre Mauroy Pierre Mauroy (; 5 July 1928 – 7 June 2013) was a French Socialist politician who was Prime Minister of France from 1981 to 1984 under President François Mitterrand. Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. At the time of his de ...

from 1981 to 1984.

Career

Cheysson was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

and attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school. He fled from France during World War II and joined the 2nd Armored Division of

General Leclerc Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque (22 November 1902 – 28 November 1947) was a Free-French general during the Second World War. He became Marshal of France posthumously in 1952, and is known in France simply as le maréchal ...

, 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 counselor to the president of the government of

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

in 1952, cabinet chief of

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Pierre Mendès France Pierre Isaac Isidore Mendès France (; 11 January 190718 October 1982) was a French politician who served as prime minister of France for eight months from 1954 to 1955. As a member of the Radical Party, he headed a government supported by a co ...

from 1954 to 1955, and general secretary of the Commission for Technical Cooperation in Africa from 1957 to 1962. He was director of the ''Organisme Saharien'' from 1962 until 1965, and ambassador to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

from 1966 to 1969. In 1973, Cheysson was appointed as the French

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

er. His first post, which he held until 1977, was in charge of development policy, cooperation,

budgets A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...

, 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 the

Delors Commission The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the eighth President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms (though the last one lasted for around a year). The first term lasted ...

, where he was responsible for

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

policy and north–south relations, from 1985 to 1989. By 1999, Cheysson joined the '' Collectif Liberté pour l'Afghanistan'', an organization lobbying for the West to stop tolerating the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

and "

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated ...

, the millionaire Saudi financier of terror".

References

Rulers.org
1920 births 2012 deaths Politicians from Paris 20th-century French diplomats French Foreign Ministers Socialist Party (France) politicians French European Commissioners École Polytechnique alumni École nationale d'administration alumni French military personnel of World War II French Army officers Ambassadors of France to Indonesia Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George European Commissioners 1973–1977 European Commissioners 1977–1981 European Commissioners 1981–1985 European Commissioners 1985–1988 French expatriates in Vietnam {{France-diplomat-stub