Who is edith cresson

Her father was a senior civil servant. Raised by a British nanny, she became fluent in the English language. Cresson attended the School of Advanced Commercial Studies, earning a degree in business and later a doctorate in demography. For the next 26 years the future president helped Cresson advance through the ranks of what is now the French Socialist Party, calling her "my little soldier.

After Mitterrand became president in , Cresson served first as minister of agriculture , then as minister of external trade and tourism , as minister of industrial restructuring and external trade , and finally minister of foreign affairs She resigned from the government on October 3, , to work as a consultant on international development. Meanwhile she was three times elected a deputy to the National Assembly from the Vienne province , , Then in May , President Mitterrand asked Cresson to form a new government.

Her appointment as the first woman Prime Minister of France was applauded as a radical step, but she soon became extremly unpopular, partly because of her stringent economic policies, and partly for her tactless outbursts, e. In charge of the portfolio for Science, Research and Development in the European Union from , she was one of the members of the European Commission accused of corruption and nepotism.

This became a public scandal, and ultimately led to the resignation of the entire Commission in View all related items in Oxford Reference ». Search for: 'Edith Cresson' in Oxford Reference ».

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Oxford Reference. Publications Pages Publications Pages. Her best remembered bons mots were her assertions that "one Englishman in four is a homosexual" and that "the Japanese live like ants. She claimed right-wing politicians were trying to undermine her and the Spanish Commmissioner Mr Manuel Marin, a fellow socialist.

In Mrs Cresson's conspiracy theory, German resentment at Bonn's huge contribution to the EU budget lies behind the smear campaign.

The Germans see their money being distributed to poorer, southern European countries. Ms Cresson 64 is from the older generation of French socialists associated with the late president Francois Mitterrand. Because Mr Mitterrand's 14 years in office were marred by so many financial scandals, the Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, has distanced himself from the Mitterrand era and did not include any of its elephants in his cabinet.

Ms Cresson met Mr Mitterrand when she worked on his presidential campaign. She joined the Socialist Party in and was first elected to the European Parliament eight years later.

During her brief premiership, she angered civil servants with what they saw as her propensity for meddling politically in economic affairs.