Jacques Chirac was a prominent French politician who served as the President of France from 1995 to 2007. His long political career also included two terms as Prime Minister of France and eighteen years as the Mayor of Paris. Chirac's presidency was marked by his opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and his recognition of the French state's role in the Holocaust. He championed a socially conscious Gaullist approach, leaving a complex and lasting legacy on both French and international politics.