Nicolas Sarkozy

Who is Nicolas Sarkozy?

Nicolas Sarkozy is a French politician who served as the 23rd President of France from 16 May 2007 until 15 May 2012.

Before his presidency, he was the leader of the Union for a Popular Movement. Under Jacques Chirac's presidency he served as Minister of the Interior in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's first two governments, then was appointed Minister of Finances in Raffarin's last government and again Minister of the Interior in Dominique de Villepin's government.

Sarkozy was also president of the General council of the Hauts-de-Seine department from 2004 to 2007 and mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, one of the wealthiest communes of France, from 1983 to 2002. He was Minister of the Budget in the government of Édouard Balladur during François Mitterrand's last term.

In foreign affairs, he promised a strengthening of the entente cordiale with the United Kingdom and closer cooperation with the United States. During his term, he faced the late-2000s financial crisis and the Arab Spring. He married Italian-French singer-songwriter Carla Bruni on 2 February 2008 at the Élysée Palace in Paris.