Famous French Leaders
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France has been a dominant force in Europe and the world over since times immemorial, be it culturally, politically or militarily. A global linchpin of art, fashion, science and literature, it has made significant contribution to the world history in every sphere. Till date, the country remains a great power with substantial cultural, economic, military, and political influence. And much of that wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the chivalrous French leaders who exuded great power, authority and influence to make the country the powerhouse that it is today. Be it the valiant Emperor Napolean I or the heroic King Louis XIV, the exceptional Michel de Montaigne or the Nobel laureate Andre Gide, the avant-garde Erik Satie or the golden age superstar Hector Berlioz, the revolutionary Christian Dior or the contemporary Yves Saint Laurent, the gallant Charles de Gaulle or the pacifist Jean Jaures, French leaders have served as the perfect idols and role models for the world over. They have brought the country to the limelight and made France one of the world capitals in literature, science, music, fashion, commerce, trade, politics, military and tourism. Read this section for the life and works of great French leaders.
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1
Napoleon III(President of France from 1848 to 1852 and Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870)
Birthdate: April 20, 1808
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: January 9, 1873
Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, was the first president of France, from 1848 to 1852, and the French emperor from 1852 to 1870. He rebuilt Paris and other French cities, apart from reforming the French banks, railways, and marines. He lost the Franco-Prussian War and eventually died in exile.
Birthdate: August 15, 1769
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Ajaccio, France
Died: May 5, 1821
French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte ruled as the French emperor from 1804 to 1814 and again in 1815. He strengthened France’s position in Europe through the Napoleonic Wars and extended his kingdom. However, he was eventually defeated by the Seventh Coalition at the Battle of Waterloo and sent to exile.
Birthdate: April 2, 0747
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Aachen, Germany
Died: January 28, 0814
Also known as Charles the Great, Charlemagne ruled as the king of the Franks, king of the Lombards, and emperor of the Romans at different time periods. Not surprisingly, he had a major impact during the Early Middle Ages as he went about uniting the majority of central and western Europe, for which he is called the Father of Europe.
4
Charles de Gaulle(Former French President & Army Officer Who Led 'Free France' against Nazi Germany in World War II)
Birthdate: November 22, 1890
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Lille, France
Died: November 9, 1970
Charles de Gaulle was a French statesman and army officer. Charles de Gaulle fought against Nazi Germany in the Second World War by leading the Free French Forces. He also worked towards re-establishing democracy in France. He founded the Fifth Republic, France's current republican system, and rewrote the Constitution of France. He then served as the president of France.
Birthdate: November 16, 1896
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Mayfair, London
Died: December 3, 1980
Named by BBC History as the “worst” historical British person of the 20th century, Oswald Mosley started off as an MP in the 1920s. He was part of the Conservative Party and then the Labour Party. He then formed the British Union of Fascists and the United Kingdom New Party.
6
Marquis de Lafayette(French Aristocrat, Freemason and Military Officer Who Fought in the American Revolutionary War)
Birthdate: September 6, 1757
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chavaniac-Lafayette, France
Died: May 20, 1834
Marquis de Lafayette was a French aristocrat and military officer, who is remembered for fighting in the American Revolutionary War, as the commander of American troops in several battles. After returning to France, he played key roles in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. Considered a hero in both America and France, he advocated the end of slavery.
Birthdate: September 5, 1638
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Died: September 1, 1715
Louis XIV of France reigned as the King of France from 1643 to 1715. Louis XIV is the longest-reigning monarch of a sovereign country in the history of Europe. Under his rule, France often asserted its military prowess and emerged as the most dominant European monarchy. His life inspired several films, such as The Taking of Power by Louis XIV.
Birthdate: October 26, 1916
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Jarnac, France
Died: January 8, 1996
François Mitterrand served as the French president from 1981 to 1995, becoming the longest-tenured president in the history of his country. He was the first to name a female prime minister, Édith Cresson. He is known for his investments in several Grands Projets and his opposition of the Fifth Republic.
Birthdate: 0846 AD
Birthplace: Scandinavia
Died: 0930 AD
Rollo of Normandy, also known as Rolf, is part of Scandinavian lore. A Viking, he was known for his exploits as a pirate on the seas of France, England, and other lands. When he attacked France with his Danish army, he was given Neustria, or Normandy, as part of a truce.
Birthdate: May 20, 1743
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Saint-Dominigue (present day Haiti)
Died: April 7, 1803
Haitian general, Toussaint Louverture, was the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. A revolutionary leader, he was devoted to the cause of Haitian independence and fought hard until he was killed by the French in a treacherous manner. The revolution continued after his death, leading to Haiti’s independence. He is now known as the Father of Haiti.
Birthdate: November 29, 1932
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: September 26, 2019
Jacques Chirac was a French politician who served as France's prime minister on two occasions, first from 1974 to 1976 and then from 1986 to 1988. He also served as France's president from 1995 to 2007. Because of his long career in prominent government positions, Chirac was often caricatured or parodied. He was also depicted in films, such as W.
Birthdate: 0686 AD
Birthplace: Herstal
Died: October 22, 0741
Charles Martel was a Frankish military leader and statesman. From 718 until his death in 741, Martel served as the de facto ruler of Francia. He is credited with restoring centralized government in Francia and re-establishing the Franks as the masters of all Gaul through a series of military campaigns.
13
Michel Ney(French Military Commander and Marshal of the Empire)
Birthdate: January 10, 1769
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Saarlouis, Germany
Died: December 7, 1815
Michel Ney was a French military commander. One of the 18 Marshals of the Empire inaugurated by Napoléon Bonaparte, Michel Ney played important roles in the Napoleonic Wars and the French Revolutionary Wars. Nicknamed the Bravest of the Brave by Napoleon himself, Ney was renowned for his valor in wars.
14
Irène Joliot-Curie(French Physicist, Politician and Winner of the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry)
Birthdate: September 12, 1897
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: March 17, 1956
Marie Curie and Pierre Curie’s daughter, Irène Joliot-Curie, herself a brilliant scientist, won the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with her husband, Joliot-Curie, for discovering artificial radioactivity. She was also one of the first three female French government members. She tragically died of leukemia caused by exposure to radiation.
Birthdate: May 6, 1758
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Arras, France
Died: July 28, 1794
Maximilien de Robespierre was a leading left-wing lawyer and leader during the Reign of Terror. He led the Committee of Public Safety and was part of the Constituent Assembly and the Jacobin Club. He was accused of establishing a dictatorship and was guillotined in 1794, thus beginning the Thermidorian Reaction.
Birthdate: September 28, 1841
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Mouilleron-en-Pareds, Vendee
Died: November 24, 1929
Georges Clémenceau, or The Tiger, who had served as the French prime minister, is remembered as a key figure of the French Third Republic. He not only played a major role in the Allied victory in World War I, but was also a key framer of the Treaty of Versailles.
17
Louis The Pious(King of Aquitaine, King of Franks & Co-Emperor (Holy Roman Empire))
Birthdate: April 16, 0778
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Chasseneuil-du-Poitou
Died: June 20, 0840
Son of Charlemagne, Louis The Pious, became the king of Aquitaine at age 3. He crowned himself the emperor of the Franks immediately after his father’s death. His reign was riddled with three civil wars, while his death caused another civil war, which finally culminated in the Treaty of Verdun.
18
Billy Mitchell
(Military General)
Birthdate: December 29, 1879
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Nice, France
Died: February 19, 1936
19
Charlotte Corday(French Revolutionary Who Was Executed for the Assassination of Jacobin Leader Jean-Paul Marat)
Birthdate: July 27, 1768
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Écorches, Normandy, France
Died: July 17, 1793
Charlotte Corday was an important figure of the French Revolution. She is remembered for murdering Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat, for which she was executed by guillotine. Her action changed the political position and role of women at the time. She was also considered a hero by those who opposed the teachings of Jean-Paul Marat.
Birthdate: 1330 AD
Birthplace: Pontoise, France
Died: March 22, 1418
Nicolas Flamel was a French scribe and manuscript-seller active in the 14th century. He was also known to be an alchemist. He was married to a wealthy woman, and the couple owned several properties together. They were generous and donated money to numerous churches and hostels. He is often featured in fictional works as a legendary alchemist.
21
Marine Le Pen(French Lawyer and President of the National Rally Group in the National Assembly )
Birthdate: August 5, 1968
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
French politician and lawyer Marine Le Pen, daughter of politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, has been the president of the National Rally since 2011. She is also serving as the member of the National Assembly for Pas-de-Calais's 11th constituency since 2017. She was previously a member of the European Parliament.
22
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
(President of France (1974 - 1981))
Birthdate: February 2, 1926
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Koblenz, Germany
Died: December 2, 2020
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was a seasoned French politician who served as President of France. During his presidency, Giscard d'Estaing promoted nuclear power and liberalisation of trade, pushed for development of projects like TGV, and took a more liberal attitude on social issues like divorce, abortion and contraception. He emerged as the longest-lived president in the history of France.
Birthdate: September 9, 1585
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: December 4, 1642
Cardinal Richelieu was a French clergyman and statesman who was active in the early 17th century. He held powerful positions in both the Catholic Church and French government and served as the chief minister to Louis XIII of France in 1624. He helped the French maintain their dominance in the Thirty Years' War that engulfed Europe.
24
Georges Danton(French Lawyer and a Leading Figure in the French Revolution)
Birthdate: October 26, 1759
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Arcis-sur-Aube, France
Died: April 5, 1794
Georges Danton was a major figure in the early stages of the French Revolution. While many historians state that he played a key role in the establishment of the First French Republic, a few scholars refute this claim. He served as the first president of the Committee of Public Safety and was beheaded by the advocates of revolutionary terror.
Birthdate: August 2, 1674
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Saint-Cloud, France
Died: December 2, 1723
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, was the regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He was the son of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate. He was named the regent of France for Louis XV, who succeeded to the throne at the age of five. Philippe died months after Louis attained majority.
Birthdate: 1120 AD
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: September 18, 1180
Louis VII of France was the king of the Franks for over four decades from 1137 to 1180. The second son of Louis VI of France and Adelaide of Maurienne, he unexpectedly became the heir to the throne following his elder brother’s death. He had a long but difficult reign and was succeeded by his son Philip II.
Birthdate: February 2, 1754
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: May 17, 1838
While his clubfoot prevented him from joining the army and also earned him the nickname The Lame Devil, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord later became the bishop of Autun. Known for his womanizing ways, he also went down in history as an opportunist who changed sides.
Birthdate: October 9, 1859
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Mulhouse, France
Died: July 12, 1935
Alfred Dreyfus was a French artillery officer whose trial and conviction on charges of treason in 1894 became one of the most polarizing political dramas in the history of modern France. The incident, which is referred to as the Dreyfus Affair, was a political scandal that ended with Dreyfus' absolution in 1906.
Birthdate: May 23, 1208
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Montfort-l'Amaury
Died: August 4, 1265
French nobleman Simon de Montfort gave away his family lands to become the Earl of Leicester instead. Though King Henry III married off his sister Eleanor to Simon without consulting his barons, Simon later turned against the king. After being killed by Roger Mortimer, Simon’s body was mutilated by royalists.
30
David Cage
(Video game producer, Designer)
Birthdate: June 9, 1969
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Mulhouse
Birthdate: 1348 AD
Birthplace: Montpellier, France
Died: August 16, 1379
Saint Roch, or Rocco, the 14th-century saint from Montpellier, had taken care of victims of the Black Death in Italy. Having fallen prey to the same disease, he was rescued by a dog in a forest. The illness changed his appearance and caused him to be imprisoned for being an imposter.
32
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
(Politician)
Birthdate: February 2, 1754
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: May 17, 1838
French diplomat and bishop Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord is counted among the most pragmatic and prominent diplomats in European history. He served King Louis XVI and thereafter changed sides several times, serving at highest levels of successive French governments of Napoleon I, Louis XVIII and Louis Philippe I. He served as the first Prime Minister of France under Louis XVIII.
Birthdate: January 1, 1956
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Paris, France
Christine Lagarde is a French politician, businessperson, and lawyer. She is the current president of the European Central Bank (ECB), a position she has been holding since 1 November 2019. Prior to this, she was the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She is the first woman to head both the ECB and the IMF.
34
François Fillon
(Politician, Lawyer, Legislative assistant)
Birthdate: March 4, 1954
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Le Mans
Former prime minister of France and Republican party member François Fillon had also held many important portfolios, such as the ministries of education and ecology. An Anglophile, he is married to a Welsh-born wife. He was later found involved in a fake jobs scandal and was convicted of fund embezzlement.
35
Simone Veil
(The First Woman to Become the President of the European Parliament)
Birthdate: July 13, 1927
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Nice, France
Died: June 30, 2017
A Holocaust survivor, Simone Veil had lost her father, mother, and brother to Nazi concentration camps. She grew up to be a magistrate and became the first woman president of the European Parliament. She had also been an able health minister and rallied for abortion rights of French women.
36
Louis-Nicolas Davout
(Military commander)
Birthdate: May 10, 1770
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Annoux, France
Died: June 1, 1823
Birthdate: June 19, 1959
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: San Fernando, Spain
38
Ségolène Royal(Former French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy (2014 - 2017))
Birthdate: September 22, 1953
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Ouakam, Dakar, Senegal
Born to a French colonel in Senegal, Ségolène Royal had met former French president François Hollande, her future husband, while studying economics at the Paris-based École Nationale d’Administration. The mother of four has also been a Socialist Party presidential candidate and the French minister of ecology.
39
Francis, Duke of Anjou
(Duke)
Birthdate: March 18, 1555
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Fontainebleau, France
Died: June 10, 1584
40
Robert Louis-Dreyfus
(French Businessman)
Birthdate: June 14, 1946
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Paris
Died: July 4, 2009
41
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
(Duke)
Birthdate: April 13, 1747
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Domaine de Saint Cloud, Saint-Cloud, France
Died: November 6, 1793
42
Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
(General)
Birthdate: July 1, 1725
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Vendôme, France
Died: May 30, 1807
43
Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême
(King)
Birthdate: August 6, 1775
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France
Died: June 3, 1844
Birthdate: November 15, 1316
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Paris
Died: November 20, 1316
45
Pierre Laval
(Politician, Lawyer)
Birthdate: June 28, 1883
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Châteldon
Died: October 15, 1945
Pierre Laval was a French politician who served as prime minister of France for two non-consecutive terms. A lawyer by qualification, he defended trade unions and leftists against government prosecution. As a politician, he held many governmental positions. After the liberation of France in 1944, he was arrested by the new French government and executed following a flawed trial.
46
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
(Former Managing Director of the IMF)
Birthdate: April 25, 1949
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
French economist and former MD of IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn grew up in Morocco, where his parents worked. Before joining politics, he taught economics. He has been in the midst of many controversies, including a sex scandal, in which a hotel maid accused him of sexual assault.
47
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
(Economist, Politician)
Birthdate: August 29, 1619
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Reims
Died: September 6, 1683
Born into a merchant family in France, Jean-Baptiste Colbert grew up to hold various administrative posts. Patronized by Cardinal Mazarin, he became affluent and later became one of the most efficient administrators during the regime of Louis XIV. He also established the French merchant navy.
Birthdate: March 25, 1767
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Labastide-Murat, Cœur-de-Causse, France
Died: October 13, 1815
Joachim Murat, the king of Naples, came to be known for his outrageous dress sense and earned the nickname The Dandy King. Married to Napoleon’s sister, Caroline Bonaparte, he was also a Marshal of France and earned the title of the First Horseman of Europe.
Birthdate: June 20, 1928
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: La Trinité-sur-Mer, France
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French politician who focuses on issues pertaining to the European Union, immigration to France, France's unemployment, and law and order. From 1972 to 2011, he worked as President of the National Front. From 2011 to 2015, Le Pen served as the National Front's Honorary President.
50
Geoffrey V Plantagenet, Count of Anjou
(Count of Anjou)
Birthdate: August 24, 1113
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Le Mans, France
Died: September 7, 1151