Nicolas Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy (born in 1955) is a French conservative politician, who was elected President of France on May 6, 2007. He is a strong admirer of the United States,

Sarkozy was born in Paris in 1955 to a French mother (the daughter of a Greek immigrant) and a Hungarian father (real name: Sarkozy de Nagy-Bocsa) who had escaped Communism. Sarkozy attended law school at the University of Paris, and also studied at the Institute of Political Studies. In 1983, at the age of 28, he became mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, a major suburb of Paris. He was elected to the French National Assembly in 1988 and named minister in 1993. From 2002 to 2007 he served as interior minister and budget minister during which time he burnished his reputation as a tough-on-crime and straightforward politician. On January 14, 2007, he was chosen by the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP), France's main conservative party, as its candidate for president.

Divorced twice, Sarkozy is father to three sons, Pierre and Jean from his first marriage and Louis from his second. He was married for a third time on February 2, 2008, to model and singer Carla Bruni.

Sarkozy also has engendered much controversy in France with his advocacy of economic reforms, immigration controls, a youth employment law that the government was compelled to repeal by widespread protests, and his notorious comment that his intention was to "wash away the scum", when referring to the 2005 Paris Riots.

Libya affair

Two French lawyers said they planned to initiate legal proceedings against French President Nicolas Sarkozy for crimes against humanity over the NATO-led military campaign in Libya... Dumas, a former French minister, said the NATO mission, which was meant to protect civilians, was in fact killing them."

External links

• A Greek book on Nicolas Sarkozy.
• Profile: Nicolas Sarkozy.