Charles Platiau/Portal
FILE PHOTO: European Commission President Jacques Delors, October 26, 1994, Portal/Charles Platiau/Archive photo
CNN –
Former European Commission President Jacques Delors, a key figure in the creation of the euro currency, died on Wednesday at the age of 98, according to a statement from the Jacques Delors Institute, a think tank he founded.
Delors, a socialist, had a high-profile political career in France, where he served as finance minister under President François Mitterrand in the early 1980s before becoming president of the European Commission in 1985.
His ten-year presidency remains the longest in the institution's history and shaped the contours of modern Europe.
Under Delors, the European Union changed significantly and introduced a number of important reforms, including the Single European Act, the Schengen Agreement, the Erasmus student exchange program, a revision of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Economic and Monetary Union, which later led to… the creation of the euro -Currency.
In March 2020, he called on EU leaders to show more solidarity at a time when they were arguing over a common response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Acting Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid tribute to Delors on X, calling the late statesman a “visionary who made our Europe stronger.”
“His life’s work is a united, dynamic and prosperous European Union. It has shaped entire generations of Europeans, including mine,” the Commission President added.
French President Emmanuel Macron called Delors “a statesman of French destiny, an inexhaustible architect of our Europe” and “a fighter for human justice.”
“His commitment, ideals and integrity will always inspire us. “I pay tribute to his work and his memory and share the grief of his loved ones,” the French president added to X.
Delors began his career in 1945 at the Banque de France – where his father had also worked – and later earned a degree in economics at the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris. He was involved in the Christian Trade Union Federation and was appointed its economic advisor in 1950.
After 17 years, Delors left the Banque de France, where he had reached management positions. He then headed the social affairs department of the state's General Planning Commission. From 1969 to 1972 he was chief social affairs adviser to Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas and a member of his cabinet. From 1974 to 1979 he was also an associate professor at the University of Paris-Dauphine.
Delors joined the French Socialist Party in 1974 and was elected to the European Parliament five years later. He chaired the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee until May 1981, when he was appointed French Finance Minister by then President Francois Mitterrand. He was also mayor of Clichy from 1983 to 1984.
The British tabloid The Sun published the famous headline “Up Yours Delors” in 1990, opposing Delor's plans for greater European Union integration.
When his term at the European Commission ended in 1995, Delors was considered a serious contender for the French presidency. However, he decided not to run for office and founded his own think tank in 1996. His only daughter, Martine Aubry, is a prominent French politician and former leader of the French Socialist Party.