Francois Hollande

François Hollande is the 24th president of France, and a member of the Socialist Party. He succeeded Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012. François Hollande was born in Rouen, France in 1954. He attended a series of elite French schools and joined the Socialist Party in 1979. First elected to the Ussel town council, he went on to win a National Assembly seat in 1988. He was made chair of the Socialist Party and announced a bid for the presidency in 2011, and beat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy to become France's 24th president in 2012. While a student at Ecole Nationale d'Administration University, Hollande met and began dating Ségolène Royal. They lived as domestic partners but did not marry, having four children together. Royal had political aspirations of her own and, in 2007, ran for the presidency against Hollande's wishes. A few weeks after her defeat, the couple announced their separation.