1930- . French socialist politician, prime
minister from 1988. A former radical, he
joined the Socialist Party (PS) 1973,
emerging as leader of its moderate
social-democratic wing. He held ministerial
office under Mitterrand 1981-85. Rocard
trained at the prestigious Ecole National
d'Administration, where he was a classmate of
Jacques Chirac. He became leader of the
radical Unified Socialist Party (PSU) 1967,
standing as its presidential candidate 1969.
Having gone over to the PS, Rocard
unsuccessfully challenged Francois Mitterand
for the party's presidential nomination 1981.
After serving as minister of planning and
regional development 1981-83 and of
agriculture 1983-85, he resigned Apr 1985 in
opposition to the government's introduction
of proportional representation. In May 1988,
however, as part of a strategy termed
`opening to the centre', the popular Rocard
was appointed prime minister by Mitterrand.