Lionel Jospin

Lionel Jospin
Jospin in 2014
Prime Minister of France
In office
2 June 1997 – 6 May 2002
PresidentJacques Chirac
Preceded byAlain Juppé
Succeeded byJean-Pierre Raffarin
Member of the Constitutional Council
In office
6 January 2015 – 11 March 2019
Appointed byClaude Bartolone
PresidentJean-Louis Debré
Laurent Fabius
Preceded byJacques Barrot
Succeeded byAlain Juppé
First Secretary of the Socialist Party
In office
14 October 1995 – 2 June 1997
Preceded byHenri Emmanuelli
Succeeded byFrançois Hollande
In office
24 January 1981 – 14 May 1988
Preceded byFrançois Mitterrand
Succeeded byPierre Mauroy
Minister of National Education
In office
12 May 1988 – 2 April 1992
Prime MinisterMichel Rocard
Édith Cresson
Preceded byRené Monory
Succeeded byJack Lang
Minister of Youth and Sport
In office
12 May 1988 – 16 May 1991
Prime MinisterMichel Rocard
Preceded byAlain Calmat
Succeeded byFrédérique Bredin
Personal details
Born (1937-07-12) 12 July 1937 (age 87)
Meudon, Seine-et-Oise, France
Political partySocialist Party
Other political
affiliations
Internationalist Communist Organisation (Historical)
Spouse(s)Élisabeth Dannenmuller (div).
Sylviane Agacinski
ChildrenEva and Hugo
Alma materSciences Po
École nationale d'administration
Signature

Lionel Robert Jospin (French: [ljɔnɛl ʁɔbɛʁ ʒɔspɛ̃]; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.

Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in the 1995 and 2002 elections. In 1995, he was narrowly defeated in the second round by Jacques Chirac. In 2002, he was eliminated in the first round after finishing behind both Chirac and Jean-Marie Le Pen, prompting him to announce his retirement from politics. In 2015, he was appointed to the Constitutional Council by National Assembly President Claude Bartolone.