Bernadette Thérèse Marie Chirac, born
Bernadette Thérèse Marie Chodron de Courcel (born 18 May 1933) is a French politician and the former
First LadyFirst Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state. In the United States, it is also used for the spouse of the governor.-Origin:...
of France. She is married to former
PresidentThe President of the French Republic colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France's elected Head of State....
Jacques ChiracJacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France , behind François Mitterrand...
.
She met Chirac while both students at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (better known as
Sciences Po), and were married in France on 16 March 1956. They have two children: Laurence and
Claude ChiracClaude Chirac, , younger daughter of French president Jacques Chirac, has been her father's personal advisor since 1994.She has been involved with French judoka Thierry Rey, who is the father of her son Martin Rey-Chirac....
, and a
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
ese foster-daughter,
Anh Đào TraxelAnh Dao Traxel in South Vietnam is the foster daughter of former French President Jacques Chirac. She was a boat people refugee, and met Jacques Chirac at Roissy Airport in 1979. He told her "Don’t cry, ma chérie. You are coming home with us" and took her home...
.
Since 2001, Bernadette has been a leading member of the "Pièces Jaunes," an organization that aids children in French hospitals by collecting small change and donating it to hospitals.
She has also helped her husband being elected in 1995 and is herself an elected official in
CorrèzeCorrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.-History:Corrèze is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It includes part of the former province of Limousin .-Geography:The department is part of the current region...
, the couple's home
département.
Bernadette Chirac was born in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 18 May 1933.
Bernadette Thérèse Marie Chirac, born
Bernadette Thérèse Marie Chodron de Courcel (born 18 May 1933) is a French politician and the former
First LadyFirst Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state. In the United States, it is also used for the spouse of the governor.-Origin:...
of France. She is married to former
PresidentThe President of the French Republic colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France's elected Head of State....
Jacques ChiracJacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France , behind François Mitterrand...
.
She met Chirac while both students at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (better known as
Sciences Po), and were married in France on 16 March 1956. They have two children: Laurence and
Claude ChiracClaude Chirac, , younger daughter of French president Jacques Chirac, has been her father's personal advisor since 1994.She has been involved with French judoka Thierry Rey, who is the father of her son Martin Rey-Chirac....
, and a
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
ese foster-daughter,
Anh Đào TraxelAnh Dao Traxel in South Vietnam is the foster daughter of former French President Jacques Chirac. She was a boat people refugee, and met Jacques Chirac at Roissy Airport in 1979. He told her "Don’t cry, ma chérie. You are coming home with us" and took her home...
.
Since 2001, Bernadette has been a leading member of the "Pièces Jaunes," an organization that aids children in French hospitals by collecting small change and donating it to hospitals.
She has also helped her husband being elected in 1995 and is herself an elected official in
CorrèzeCorrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.-History:Corrèze is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It includes part of the former province of Limousin .-Geography:The department is part of the current region...
, the couple's home
département.
Youth
Bernadette Chirac was born in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 18 May 1933. She was the daughter of Jean-Louis Chodron de Courcel (1907-died), a sales director, and Marguerite de Brondeau d'Urtières (1910-2000). She was the oldest of three children: her sister Catherine was born in 1946 and her brother Jérôme in 1948.
She was born to a devout
catholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
family and received a strict education from her mother. Her father was called into the French Army in 1939 and imprisoned in Germany during the Second World War until 1945. In June 1940, she fled into exile with her mother to
Lot-et-GaronneLot-et-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Lot and Garonne rivers.-History:Lot-et-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the provinces of Guyenne and Gascogne...
, where she attended the Sainte-Marthe school in
AgenAgen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:...
. From 1941 to 1943, after the occupation of the
zone libre, they fled again to
GienGien is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.Gien is on the Loire River, from Orleans. The town was bought for the royal property by Philip II of France.-References:* -External links:*...
in the
LoiretLoiret is a department in north-central France named after the river Loiret.- History :Loiret is one of the original 83 departments that was created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
. There she attended Sainte-Marie-des-Fleurs-et-des-Fruits school until the return of her father in 1945. The family settled in the sixth arrondissement of Paris. She ultimately started at the Paris Institute of Political Studies in 1950 where she met her future husband but did not graduate.
Political career
- 1971: Elected to the municipal council of Sarran
Sarran is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France....
(Department of CorrèzeCorrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.-History:Corrèze is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It includes part of the former province of Limousin .-Geography:The department is part of the current region...
).
- 1977: Aide to the mayor
"Mayor" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government....
of Sarran.
- 1979: Elected to the Departmental council of Corrèze
Corrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.-History:Corrèze is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It includes part of the former province of Limousin .-Geography:The department is part of the current region...
and subsequently re-elected on 8 March 1992, on 15 March 1998, and again on 21 March 2004.
- 1990: Founder and president of the "Association le Pont Neuf" designed to promote exchanges between young French people and young people from Asia.
- 1991: President of an International Dance Festival.
- 1994: President of the "Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris-Hôpitaux de France", a charitable foundation aiming to improve the day-to-day lives of the children and the elderly who have been hospitalised. She also took over the direction of Opération Pièces Jaunes, an annual fundraising campaign to improve hospital conditions.
Controversies
The Château de Bity, in
CorrèzeCorrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.-History:Corrèze is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It includes part of the former province of Limousin .-Geography:The department is part of the current region...
, bought by the Chiracs in 1969, was declared in part a historic monument precisely a month after they acquired it.
Judicial inquiry
Bernadette Chirac is the subject of a judicial inquiry. Opened in 2003 following a civil suit by the present
mayor"Mayor" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government....
of Paris,
Bertrand DelanoëBertrand Delanoë is a French politician, and has been the mayor of Paris since 2001. He is from the Socialist Party . He is considered to be a potential candidate for President of the French Republic in 2012....
(French socialist party), judge Philippe Courroye's inquiry concerns the 14 million Francs (about 700 euros per day) spent by the Chiracs on expenses for their official lodgings at the Paris
city hallA city hall or town hall is the chief administrative building of a city or town's administration and usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments and their employees...
.
Immediate family
- Father: Jean Chodron de Courcel (1907-died ), sales director. Studied at Eton
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent boarding school for boys aged approx. 13 to 19. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
followed by Cambridge University.
- Mother: Marguerite-Marie de Brondeau d'Urtières (1910–2000)
- Paternal grandfather: Robert Chodron de Courcel, diplomat and landowner.
- Paternal great grandfather: George Chodron de Courcel (1840-1904), naval officer.
Nobility of Bernadette Chirac
Bernadette Chirac was born into an old aristocratic family of public servants, from the Trois-Évêchés. Her family includes military officers, goldsmiths, lawyers, diplomats and industrialists. They would ultimately become owners of factories in
GienGien is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.Gien is on the Loire River, from Orleans. The town was bought for the royal property by Philip II of France.-References:* -External links:*...
and
BriareBriare is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.Briare, the Brivodorum of the Romans, is situated at the extremity of the Briare Canal, which unites the Loire and its lateral canal with the Loing and so with the Seine. The lateral canal of the Loire crosses the Loire near...
, in the
LoiretLoiret is a department in north-central France named after the river Loiret.- History :Loiret is one of the original 83 departments that was created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, which were famed for their
porcelainPorcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
and
enamelIn a discussion of material science, enamel is the colorful result of fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 degrees Celsius. The powder melts and flows and hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating on metal, glass or ceramic...
. Like many old French families, Bernadette Chirac has several European royal families among her ancestors. In 1852, a decree by Napoleon III authorizes the addition of Courcel, one of the family's properties, to their name. In 1867, Napoleon III made Alphonse Chodron de Courcel a hereditary baron for services rendered to the State.
External links