Francois Mitterrand
Francois Mitterrand, (1916-96). French statesman; president of France (1981-95). The son of a stationmaster, Mitterrand was raised in southwestern France and studied at the University of Paris. As a soldier during World War II, he was captured by the Germans but subsequently escaped (1941). He later worked briefly as an official for the Vichy government. After the war he was elected to the national assembly (1946) and held a series of ministerial posts. He stood unsuccessfully as the socialist candidate for the presidency in 1965 and 1974; his eventual victory in the elections of 1981 made him the first socialist president for 35 years. As president he nationalized the French banking system and took a leading role in forming EC policy. From 1986 he was obliged to share power with his right-wing prime minister, Jacques Chirac. He was re-elected in 1988 and presided over lavish celebrations of the bicentenary of the French Revolution the following year. Modigliani, Amedeo (1884-1920). Italian painter and sculptor. In 1906 he moved to Paris, where he studied African and other primitive art. His early sculpture and the elongated faces in his portraits show the influence of African masks. An alcoholic and a drug addict, he died of tuberculosis. The following day his pregnant mistress committed suicide by jumping out of a window.
