Twenty-nine years ago today, January 8, 1996 (November 18, 1995 in the lunar calendar), French President Mitterrand passed away. On December 12, 1987, Mitterrand attended the signing ceremony for the English Channel Tunnel François Mitterrand (1916-1996), President of France. It was born on October 26, 1916 in the city of Tyrnac, Charente Province, western France. He studied law, literature and political science at the University of Paris, and worked as a journalist and lawyer. He was drafted into the army in 1939, was injured and captured during the war, and was imprisoned in a concentration camp in central Germany. In 1942, he successfully escaped from prison, fled back to France, and participated in the underground resistance movement. After the liberation of France, he participated in the first cabinet of the provisional government established in August 1944. Later, he served as Minister of Veterans, Secretary of State for Intelligence in the Prime Minister's Office, Minister of Overseas Territories, Minister of Defense, Minister of Interior, Minister of Justice, etc. In 1971, he was elected first secretary of the Socialist Party. He ran for president twice in 1965 and 1974, and was elected President of France on May 10, 1981. In May 1988, he was successfully elected president. Retired in 1995. He died of prostate cancer on January 8, 1996. French children attending Mitterrand's funeral with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev