Nicolas Sarkozy

Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa is a French politician who served as <a href="/facts/President_of_France/Iu5uRMET">President of France</a> from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information and spending beyond legal campaign funding limits during his 2012 re-election campaign.
Born in <a href="/facts/Paris/DrNHpwnA">Paris</a>, his roots are 1/2 Hungarian Protestant, 1/4 <a href="/facts/Greek_Jewish/b1R5KLUx">Greek Jewish</a>, and 1/4 <a href="/facts/French_Catholic/AbxSNuyh">French Catholic</a>. Mayor of <a href="/facts/Neuilly-sur-Seine/V78yQsWL">Neuilly-sur-Seine</a> from 1983 to 2002, he was <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_the_Economy_and_Finance_(France)/I3XdjjzE">Minister of the Budget</a> under Prime Minister <a href="/facts/%C3%89douard_Balladur/uvX762S7">Édouard Balladur</a> (1993–1995) during <a href="/facts/Fran%C3%A7ois_Mitterrand/EY4WTqt7">François Mitterrand</a>'s second term. During Jacques Chirac's second presidential term, he served as <a href="/facts/Minister_of_the_Interior_(France)/Frym8DAV">Minister of the Interior</a> and as <a href="/facts/Minister_of_Finances_(France)/I3XdjjzE">Minister of Finances</a>. He was the leader of the <a href="/facts/Union_for_a_Popular_Movement/IhMb0qzY">Union for a Popular Movement</a> (UMP) party from 2004 to 2007.
He won the <a href="/facts/2007_French_presidential_election/P9ut5I1N">2007 French presidential election</a> by a 53.1% to 46.9% margin against <a href="/facts/S%C3%A9gol%C3%A8ne_Royal/Ecy110qw">Ségolène Royal</a>, the <a href="/facts/Socialist_Party_(France)/PVIr0RPB">Socialist Party</a> (PS) candidate. During his term, he faced the <a href="/facts/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008/qw8n1pSN">financial crisis of 2007–2008</a>, the <a href="/facts/Late-2000s_recession/9LoVUhLf">late-2000s recession</a>, and the <a href="/facts/European_sovereign_debt_crisis/lWMvbhYH">European sovereign debt crisis</a>, the <a href="/facts/Russo-Georgian_War/mbQ1VVjM">Russo-Georgian War</a> (for which he negotiated a ceasefire), and the <a href="/facts/Arab_Spring/IJrjLoll">Arab Spring</a> (especially in <a href="/facts/Tunisia/4uC8Po6k">Tunisia</a>, <a href="/facts/Libya/HMPH8PWR">Libya</a>, and <a href="/facts/Syria/7pDXGzq8">Syria</a>). He initiated the <a href="/facts/Liberties_and_Responsibilities_of_Universities_(France)/PyYGAddK">reform of French universities</a> (2007) and the <a href="/facts/Pensions_in_France/QwBDM8Wt">pension reform</a> (2010). He married Italian-French singer-songwriter <a href="/facts/Carla_Bruni/PjQbBEmo">Carla Bruni</a> in 2008 at the <a href="/facts/%C3%89lys%C3%A9e_Palace/GbwBG1z6">Élysée Palace</a> in Paris.
In the <a href="/facts/2012_French_presidential_election/gu18nlsQ">2012 French presidential election</a>, Sarkozy was defeated by the PS candidate <a href="/facts/Fran%C3%A7ois_Hollande/uTA3HCIM">François Hollande</a> by a 3.2% margin. After leaving the presidential office, Sarkozy vowed to retire from public life before coming back in 2014 and being reelected as UMP leader (renamed <a href="/facts/The_Republicans_(France)/IWPnTQr6">The Republicans</a> in 2015). Being defeated at the <a href="/facts/2016_The_Republicans_(France)_presidential_primary/T2KJ2G0G">Republican presidential primary</a> in 2016, he retired from public life.
He was <a href="/facts/Nicolas_Sarkozy_corruption_trial/YRB0dcpK">charged with corruption</a> by French prosecutors in two cases, notably concerning the <a href="/facts/Alleged_Libyan_financing_in_the_2007_French_presidential_election/XMdoNaw9">alleged Libyan interference in the 2007 French elections</a>. In 2021, Sarkozy <a href="/facts/Nicolas_Sarkozy_corruption_trial/YRB0dcpK">was convicted</a> of corruption in two separate trials. His first conviction resulted in him receiving a sentence of three years, two suspended, and one in prison; he appealed against the ruling. He received a one-year sentence for his second conviction, which he is allowed to serve under home confinement. In May 2023, Sarkozy lost an appeal against his corruption conviction. In February 2024, his one-year sentence for the campaign finance conviction was revised so he would instead serve six months in prison and six months suspended.

Nicolas Sarkozy open-in-new

Nicolas Sarkozy