Georges Pompidou

Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (/ˈpɒmpɪduː/ POMP-id-oo, French: [ʒɔʁʒ pɔ̃pidu] ^ⓘ; 5 July 1911 – 2 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 to his death in 1974. He was earlier the longest-ever Prime Minister of France, under President Charles de Gaulle, from 1962 to 1968.

In the context of the strong growth of the last years of the Trente Glorieuses, Pompidou continued De Gaulle's policy of modernisation, which was symbolised by the presidential use of the Concorde, the creation of large industrial groups and the launch of the high-speed train project (TGV). The government invested heavily in the automobile, agribusiness, steel, telecommunications, nuclear and aerospace sectors and also created the minimum wage (SMIC) and the Ministry of the Environment.

His foreign policy was pragmatic although in keeping with the Gaullist principle of French independence. It was marked by a warming of relations with Richard Nixon's United States, close relations with Leonid Brezhnev's Soviet Union, the launch of the snake in the tunnel and the relaunching of European construction by facilitating the United Kingdom's entry to the EEC in contrast to de Gaulle's opposition.

Pompidou died in office in 1974 of Waldenström's disease, a rare form of blood cancer. His presidency is generally held in high esteem by French political commentators.

A man of letters, he belongs to a long line of French statesmen with an excellent writing style. His "Anthology of French Poetry" is still a reference and is part of the school curriculum. He was passionate about contemporary art, and his name remains known worldwide for the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou, which he initiated and was inaugurated in 1977; it subsequently spread the name with its branches in Metz (France), Malaga (Spain), Brussels (Belgium) and Shanghai (China). A Georges Pompidou Museum is also dedicated to him in his hometown.