15 Facts About Danielle Mitterrand

Danielle Emilienne Isabelle Mitterrand was the wife of French President Francois Mitterrand, and president of the Fondation Danielle-Mitterrand - France Libertes.

Danielle Mitterrand's father, Antoine Gouze, was a college principal.

Danielle Mitterrand's mother, born Renee Flachot, was a teacher.

Danielle Mitterrand's parents were secularists, Republicans and French Section of the Workers' International activists.

Danielle Mitterrand then moved to Cluny where he gave private lessons.

Danielle Mitterrand's family aided the French Resistance and helped lodge members of the Maquis.

Danielle Mitterrand met Francois Mitterrand there and married him on 28 October 1944, three months after the Liberation.

Danielle Mitterrand created the France-Libertes Foundation in 1986, when she was First Lady, with the merger of three smaller associations which had been established in 1981.

Danielle Mitterrand died on 22 November 2011 aged 87 after being hospitalized for fatigue.

Danielle Mitterrand befriended Fidel Castro, Subcomandante Marcos, and the Dalai Lama.

Danielle Mitterrand was a supporter of the ANC and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

Danielle Mitterrand supported the Sandinistas when her husband gave them military aid in their war against US-backed forces in Nicaragua.

Danielle Mitterrand was very critical of Turkey, opposing its accession to the European Union and supportive of the Kurdistan independence movement.

Danielle Mitterrand voiced her views in favour of Sahrawi separatists, Mexican insurgent Subcomandante Marcos, and the Tibetan people, among others.

Danielle Mitterrand supported a "no" vote in the 2005 French referendum on the European Constitution: "I denounce the power of the economy over people, a system that turns individuals into elements in an economic equation, does not respect the poor and excludes everyone that does not live up to the principle of profitability".