Jacques Delors began his career studying law, specialising in political economy. He joined the CFTC, “the French Confederation of Christian Workers”. A member of the General Council of the Banque de France from 1973 to 1979, he made his name by working for Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas. At the same time as carrying out these duties, he was professor of management at the “Université Paris-Dauphine”.
A member of the Socialist Party since 1974, Jacques Delors was Minister of the Economy and Finance under President François Mitterrand. Put in charge of the budget in May 1983, his policies were recognized by international business circles. When he left office, Jacques Delors devoted his career full sail to the construction of Europe. In June 1985, he was appointed President of the “Commission of the European Communities” (the forerunner of the “European Commission”), and launched a number of major projects that still shape Europe’s identity today.
In June 1985, the European Council approved his White Paper, a first step towards the Single European Act, which set the goal of completing the single market six years later. This treaty remains Jacques Delors’ greatest achievement. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Schengen area, the Maastricht Treaty and the CAP, the Common Agricultural Policy.
Jacques Delors left behind him a consolidated Europe enlarged to fifteen states. His impressive track record made him a natural candidate to succeed François Mitterrand at the Elysée Palace in 1995. Delors, “the man who says no”, refused to run. He founded his European research institute “Jacques Delors Institute”, and gradually withdrew from political life, allowing himself a few occasional stances. He spoke out again to warn against the “mortal danger” of disunity among Member States over the response to the coronavirus crisis in the first half of 2020.
Designated an honorary citizen of Europe in 2015, he joins Jean Monnet and Helmut Kohl in the Pantheon of the history of the construction of the European Union, in his rightful place among Europe’s Founding Fathers.
