Pierre Bérégovoy
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| In office 2 April 1992 – 29 March 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Édith Cresson |
| Succeeded by | Édouard Balladur |
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| Born | 23 December 1925 Déville-lès-Rouen |
| Died | 1 May 1993 Paris |
| Political party | Socialist |
Pierre Eugène Bérégovoy (23 December 1925 – 1 May 1993) was a French Socialist politician of Russian origin. He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1992 to 1993.
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[edit] Early career
Pierre Bérégovoy was born in Déville-lès-Rouen, Haute-Normandie.
He started his professional life at the age of 16 as a qualified metal worker. He got involved in politics following his activities in the French Resistance - while working at SNCF during World War II. As a member of the trade unions confederation Workers Force (Force ouvrière or FO) and of the Unified Socialist Party (Parti socialiste unifié or PSU), he met Pierre Mendès-France. In the 1970s, he joined the Socialist Party (Parti socialiste or PS) led by François Mitterrand.
In 1981, when Mitterrand was elected President of France, he was chosen as secretary general of the presidency. One year later, he became minister of social affairs, then minister of economy in the cabinets of Laurent Fabius, Michel Rocard and Edith Cresson (1984-1986 and 1988-1992). In this function, he symbolized the adaptation of the French socialism to the market economy and striked up hearty relations with employers representing. Besides, he is elected deputy for Nièvre in 1986 and 1988.
After the 1992 regional elections, which were a disaster for the socialists, he was appointed as Prime Minister. He promised to fight unemployment, economic decline and corruption. During his inaugural speech in the French National Assembly, he claimed he knew names of politicians from the right wing opposition implied in corruption scandals, causing a great hue and cry.
He resigned after the Socialist electoral collapse of the 1993 legislative election.
[edit] Death
Guy Pierre Bérégovoy died on 1 May 1993, in Paris after being transported by helicopter from Nevers (Nièvre), where he had been found an hour earlier, in a coma with two bullets in the head. The second bullet was attributed to a nervous reflex. Police investigators ruled his death as a suicide, confirming his bodyguard's deposition, who claimed the former prime minister was with him when he grabbed the guard's gun, which is more plausible than the first version of events which appeared in the press relating that Bérégovoy had returned alone to the car and had taken the gun from the glove box. Most of Bérégovoy's close friends admitted that he had been depressed ever since he lost the March legislative elections, in which his Socialist Party won only 67 out of 577 parliamentary seats. Bérégovoy was also being investigated over a 1 million Franc interest-free loan by businessman and close friend Roger Patrice-Pelat. But his wife expressed some doubt, mainly because he had not left a suicide note. Some have suggested that Bérégovoy might actually have been assassinated, suggesting that similarities exist between his death and that of other figures close to Mitterrand. This view is widely shared.
[edit] Bérégovoy's ministry, 2 April 1992 - 29 March 1993
- Pierre Bérégovoy - Prime Minister
- Roland Dumas - Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Pierre Joxe - Minister of Defense
- Paul Quilès - Minister of the Interior and Public Security
- Michel Sapin - Minister of Economy, Finance, and Privatization
- Michel Charasse - Minister of Budget
- Dominique Strauss-Kahn - Minister of Industry and External Commerce
- Martine Aubry - Minister of Labour, Employment, and Vocational Training
- Michel Vauzelle - Minister of Justice
- Jack Lang - Minister of National Education and Culture
- Louis Mermaz - Minister of Agriculture and Forests
- Ségolène Royal - Minister of Environment
- Frédérique Bredin - Minister of Youth and Sports
- Louis Le Pensec - Minister of Overseas Departments and Territories
- Jean-Louis Bianco - Minister of Transport, Housing, and Equipment
- Louis Mermaz - Minister of Relations with Parliament
- Bernard Kouchner - Minister of Health and Humanitarian Action
- Émile Zuccarelli - Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
- Michel Delebarre - Minister of Civil Service and Administrative Reform
- Bernard Tapie - Minister of City
- Hubert Curien - Minister of Research and Space
- René Teulade - Minister of Social Affairs and Integration
Changes
- 23 May 1992 - Bernard Tapie leaves the ministry and the office of Minister of City is abolished
- 2 October 1992 - Martin Malvy succeeds Charasse as Minister of Budget. Jean-Pierre Soisson succeeds Mermaz as Minister of Agriculture, becoming also Minister of Rural Development.
- 26 December 1992 - The office of Minister of City is reestablished, with Bernard Tapie again as Minister.
- 9 March 1993 - Pierre Joxe leaves the ministry of Defence and was succeeded by Pierre Bérégovoy (who remain also Prime minister)
[edit] External links
- Association Pierre Bérégovoy, in French only
| Preceded by: Nicole Questiaux |
Minister of Social Affairs and National Solidarity 1982–1984 |
Succeeded by: Georgina Dufoix |
| Preceded by: Jacques Delors |
Minister of the Economy and Finance 1984–1986 |
Succeeded by: Édouard Balladur |
| Minister of Budget 1984–1986 |
Succeeded by: Alain Juppé |
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| Preceded by: Édouard Balladur |
Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Privatization 1988–1992 |
Succeeded by: Michel Sapin |
| Preceded by: Edith Cresson |
Prime Minister of France 1992–1993 |
Succeeded by: Édouard Balladur |
| Prime Ministers of the French Fifth Republic |  |
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| Michel Debré • Georges Pompidou • Maurice Couve de Murville • Jacques Chaban-Delmas • Pierre Messmer • Jacques Chirac • Raymond Barre • Pierre Mauroy • Laurent Fabius • Jacques Chirac • Michel Rocard • Édith Cresson • Pierre Bérégovoy • Édouard Balladur • Alain Juppé • Lionel Jospin • Jean-Pierre Raffarin • Dominique de Villepin
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