Édouard Balladur

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Édouard Léon Raoul Balladur ([edwaʁ baladyʁ] ; 2 May 1929 – 31 August 2026) was a French politician who served as prime minister under François Mitterrand from 29 March 1993 to 17 May 1995. He had previously served as minister of finance from 1986 to 1988 during Jacques Chirac's government. He was considered to be center-right and a technocrat, and identified as a Gaullist throughout his political career. After Chirac declined to return as prime minister, Mitterrand appointed Balladur as prime minister. His tenure as prime minister was largely defined by France's role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide and in the Karachi affair. Considered to be a protégé of Chirac at first, Balladur unsuccessfully ran against him for president in the 1995 presidential election, coming in third place. Balladur was elected to the National Assembly in 2002 before retiring from politics in 2007. During this time, he was considered to be a mentor to President Nicolas Sarkozy.

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