Lionel Jospin

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

Lionel Jospin
Jospin in May 2014
Prime Minister of France
In office 3 June 1997 – 6 May 2002
President	Jacques Chirac
Preceded by	Alain Juppé
Succeeded by	Jean-Pierre Raffarin
First Secretary of the Socialist Party
In office 14 October 1995 – 27 November 1997
Preceded by	Henri Emmanuelli
Succeeded by	François Hollande
In office 24 January 1981 – 14 May 1988
Preceded by	François Mitterrand
Succeeded by	Pierre Mauroy
Minister of National Education
In office 12 May 1988 – 2 April 1992
President	François Mitterrand
Prime Minister	Michel Rocard Édith Cresson
Preceded by	René Monory
Succeeded by	Jack Lang
Minister of Sport
In office 10 May 1988 – 16 May 1991
President	François Mitterrand
Prime Minister	Michel Rocard
Preceded by	Alain Calmat
Succeeded by	Frédérique Bredin
Member of the Constitutional Council of France
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 January 2015
President	Jean-Louis Debré Laurent Fabius
Preceded by	Jacques Barrot
Personal details
Born	(1937-07-12) 12 July 1937 (age 88) Meudon, France
Nationality	French
Political party	Socialist Party
Spouse(s)	Élisabeth (div). Sylviane Agacinski
Children	Eva Jospin Hugo Jospin
Alma mater	Sciences Po, ÉNA
Occupation	Activist Civil servant
Signature

Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995. He ran for President again in 2002, and was eliminated in the first round due to finishing behind both Chirac and the far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen.

After his loss in the 2002 presidential election, he immediately announced his retirement from politics.^[1]