Key facts
- Edouard Balladur, former French Prime Minister, has died at the age of 97.
- He was a prominent figure in French politics for five decades, serving as Prime Minister from 1993 to 1995.
- Balladur spearheaded a significant privatization drive, selling off major French companies.
- His 1995 presidential campaign led to a bitter rivalry with Jacques Chirac.
- He was acquitted in 2021 of charges related to the financing of his 1995 campaign, known as the "Karachi scandal".
Edouard Balladur, a former French Prime Minister and a significant figure in the country's centre-right politics for decades, has died at the age of 97. His career, marked by a sweeping privatization drive and a notable rivalry with Jacques Chirac, spanned over fifty years of the Fifth Republic.
Balladur, often described as a technocrat, served as Prime Minister from 1993 to 1995. During his tenure, he advanced a privatization program that included selling stakes in major companies like Société Générale, Paribas, and TF1. He also implemented reforms to the pension system.
His political trajectory was significantly shaped by the 1995 presidential election, where he ran against his former ally Jacques Chirac. Despite entering the race as a favorite, Balladur was eliminated in the first round, a campaign that later faced scrutiny over its financing.
Born in Izmir, Ottoman Empire, in 1929, Balladur's family later settled in France. He began his public service career in 1964 as an advisor to Prime Minister Georges Pompidou and later served as President Pompidou's chief of staff. He returned to government in 1986 as economy, finance, and privatization minister.
Following his presidential bid, Balladur remained a member of parliament until 2007 and chaired the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Commission. In 2021, he was acquitted of charges related to the financing of his 1995 campaign, a case known as the "Karachi scandal," which involved allegations of kickbacks from arms contracts.