Former French president Jacques Chirac has died.
Chirac had one of the longest continuous political careers in Europe having been elected twice as president, twice as prime minister and mayor of Paris for 18 years.
He was known for his strong stand against the American invasion of Iraq, when approval rating for his anti-war stance in France soared to 90 percent. He saw his political legacy tarnished when he was convicted of corruption in 2011
However, four years after his retirement he was given a two year suspended prison sentence.
His death was confirmed on Thursday by the Fondation Chirac in Paris.
Chirac’s son-in-law Federic Salat-Baroux told local media that the former president had reportedly been hospitalized several times in the last ten years with a lung infection.
Jacques Chirac was 86.
