Danielle Mitterrand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Danielle Mitterrand (born Danielle Emilienne Isabelle Gouze 29 October 1924 in Verdun) is the widow of François Mitterrand and president of the foundation France Libertés Fondation Danielle Mitterrand.

When she was seventeen years old, her family (her parents are professors) lodged men of the Maquis, and she became a liaison officer in the Resistance. There she met François Mitterrand, whom she married after the liberation, three years later, on 28 October 1944.

She founded her foundation in 1986 with the fusion of three smaller associations started in 1981. Her support for Fidel Castro and his regime put the president in a difficult diplomatic situation. On the other hand, she is very critical with respect to Turkey, opposing its accession to the European Union. She expresses positions in favour of the Sahrawi, Subcomandante Marcos, the Tibetan and Kurdish peoples, among others.

She supported a "no" vote in the 2005 French referendum on the European Constitution.

Her elder sister, Christine Gouze-Rénal (1914–2002), a film producer, was married to the actor Roger Hanin from 1959 until her death.

Danielle Mitterrand has three sons: Pascal (who died in childhood), Jean-Christophe and Gilbert Mitterrand.

[edit] Works

These men are first our brothers (Ces hommes sont avant tout nos frères), Ramsay, 1996, on the Indians of Chiapas
Torture in Tunisia: Committee for freedom and human rights in Tunisia (La torture en Tunisie : Comité pour le respect des libertés et des droits de l’homme en Tunisie), Le temps des cerises, 2000