Photos: Remembering Jacques Chirac, 1932-2019
Jacques Chirac, a French president who was the first leader to acknowledge France's role in the Holocaust and who defiantly opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, died Thursday at 86. Here's a look back at his life in photos.
Dec. 30, 1974
In this Dec. 30, 1974 file photo, then French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, left, and Saddam Hussein of Iraq talk prior to a state dinner in Baghdad. (AP Photo/file)
Sept. 19, 1975
Jacques Chirac lifts his helmet after riding in a Jaguar fighter plane at an air base in Saint-Dizier, Sept. 19, 1975. (AP Photo)
Aug. 24, 1978
New York Mayor Edward Koch, left, visiits the subway with Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac, right, at a control gate, in the "Le Chatelet" station in Paris, on Aug. 24, 1978. Koch was attending ceremonies for the 34th anniversary of the liberation of the Paris in World War II. (AP Photo)
1980
Jacques Chirac, the Mayor of Paris walks with artist Bernard Buffet, right, and his wife Annabel Schwob at one of Buffet's exhibitions in 1980. (AP Photo/Bodini)
May 8, 1985
In this May 8, 1985 file photo, then President-elect Jacques Chirac, left, smiles to French President Francois Mitterrand during the ceremonies marking the end of the WWII in Europe, in Paris. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, FILE)
Nov. 26. 1985
In this Nov. 26. 1985 file photo, American film star Elizabeth Taylor, left, is presented with a medal of the City of Paris by Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac during a gala soiree in a Paris night club at night to benefit AIDS research. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)
April 13, 1986
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Vernon Walters, left, shakes hand with French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac after their meeting at the Paris City Hall on April 13, 1986. Visible in center background stands U.S. Ambassador to France Joe Rodgers. Vernon Walters came to Paris as part of a swing through Europe as the U.S. fleet steamed toward Libyan waters. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)
March 31, 1987
In this March 31, 1987 file photo, President Ronald Reagan, right, and first lady Nancy Reagan, second left, pose for photographs with then French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, second right, and his wife Bernadette before a State Dinner at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)
Aug. 28, 1987
Rock star Madonna poses with French singer Line Renaud, left, and French Premier Jacques Chirac at Paris City Hall, Aug. 28, 1987 holding a 500,000-franc ($83,000 U.S.) check for the Line Renaud sponsored foundation to help medical research on AIDS. (AP Photo/Pierre Gleizes)
Feb. 2, 1988
Egyptian President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, left, and French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac shake hands after their meeting at the Majority Hotel, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 1988, Paris, France. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
June 14, 1995
President Bill Clinton, flanked by French President Jacques Chirac, left, and European Commission President Jacques Santer, arrive for their joint news conference at the White House in Washington on June 14, 1995. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
June 16, 1995
In this June 16, 1995 file photo, leaders attending the G7 Summit in Halifax gather around French President Jacques Chirac, center, for a serious discussion outside just prior to a group photo. From left are; Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien; British Prime Minister John Major, an unidentified translator, President Clinton and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver, File)
April 27, 1996
In this April 27, 1996 file photo, French President Jacques Chirac strolls in the garden of the Elysee palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
June 5, 2004
In this June 5, 2004 file photo, President Bush meets with French President Jacques Chirac as a French honor guard member stands guard at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
Aug. 31, 2004
In this Aug. 31 2004 file photo, French President Jacques Chirac, left, and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, right gesture, while Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles during their meeting in Putin's residence at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/ Sergey Ponomarev, File)
May 29, 2005
French President Jacques Chirac looks on as French First Lady Bernadette Chirac casts her vote in Sarran, southwestern France Sunday May 29, 2005 in a referendum on the EU constitution. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
June 6, 2005
In this June 6, 2005 file photo, former French President Jacques Chirac, left, and former U.S. president Bill Clinton leave after their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, File)
Nov. 10, 2005
In this Nov. 10, 2005 file picture, French President Jacques Chirac, right, listens to his Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy during a Franco-Spanish summit in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
Feb. 19, 2006
French President Jacques Chirac greets officials, after his arrival in New Delhi, India, Sunday Feb. 19, 2006. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
March 27, 2006
In this March 27, 2006 file photo, French President Jacques Chirac, left, kisses the hand of Spanish Queen Sofia as his wife Bernadette Chirac, center, looks on, before a dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
April 28, 2006
In this April 28, 2006 file photo, French President Jacques Chirac, right, greets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Former French President Jacques Chirac has died at 86, (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
June 16, 2006
French President Jacques Chirac, center, smiles on entrance to an EU summit in Brussels, Friday June 16, 2006. (AP Photo/Thierry Charlier)
July 16, 2006
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, left, stands with French President Jacques Chirac, center, and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a group photo in front of the Konstantinovsky Palace at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday July 16, 2006. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Sept. 30, 2006
France's President Jacques Chirac, center, and Armenia's President Robert Kocharian, greet residents of Yerevan during the inauguration ceremony of the"Place de France" (France's Plaza) in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday Sept. 30, 2006. Chirac is on a three-day official visit to Armenia. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)
Nov. 14, 2006
In this Nov. 14, 2006 file photo, French President Jacques Chirac poses with residents during his visit to Amiens, northern France. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler, File)
Nov. 15, 2006
French President Jacques Chirac, left, welcomes New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, prior to their working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)
Jan. 4, 2007
French President Jacques Chirac greets an unidentified guest after his New Year address to unions, associations and business representatives at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Jan. 25, 2007
French President Jacques Chirac, left, kisses the hand of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice upon her arrival to a conference to raise funds for Lebanon, Thursday Jan. 25, 2007 in Paris. (AP Photo/Charles Platiau, Pool)
April, 22, 2007
French President Jacques Chirac prepares to vote for the first round of the presidential elections in Sarran, central France, Sunday, April, 22, 2007. (AP Photo/Remy Gabalda)
May 3, 2007
In this May 3, 2007 file photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, welcomes the President of France, Jacques, right, at the chancellery in Berlin. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
May 8, 2007
In this May 8, 2007 file photo, French President Jacques Chirac stands at the General de Gaulle statue during his last Victory Day ceremonies. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon; Pool, File)
May, 10, 2007
French President Jacques Chirac, center, and President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy, right, wave supporters as they arrive at a ceremony commemorating victims of slavery in Paris, Thursday, May, 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
June 9, 2008
In this June 9, 2008 file photo, former French President Jacques Chirac reacts during the ceremony to officially launch the "Fondation Chirac" in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
March 27, 2009
Former French President Jacques Chirac delivers a speech as he unveils a new Web site aimed at curbing Holocaust denial will include a history of Muslim-Jewish relations in English, French, Arabic and Farsi, Friday March 27, 2009 in Paris. The initiative, called Project Aladdin, hinges on the Internet site, which is also to carry a history of the Holocaust and offer online Arabic and Farsi translations of books including "Anne Frank's Diary". (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)
April 24, 2009
Former French President Jacques Chirac waves as he steps onto a boat outside a Venice hotel, prior to a party to celebrate the wedding of Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault, in Punta della Dogana, Venice, Italy, Friday, April 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Nov. 24, 2011
In this Nov. 24, 2011 file photo, former French President Jacques Chirac attends a ceremony awarding laureates of the Fondation Chirac at Quai Branly Museum in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
June 1, 2011
Former French President Jacques Chirac arrives for the inauguration of the exhibition "Il Mondo vi appartiene" (The World Belongs to You) at the Francois Pinault Foundation, in Venice's Palazzo Grassi, Italy, Wednesday, June 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Luigi Costantini)
Nov. 24, 2011
Former French President Jacques Chirac waves to the press as he enters in his car after a ceremony awarding laureates of the Fondation Chirac at Quai Branly Museum in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)