STRAUSS-KAHN, DOMINIQUE

STRAUSS-KAHN, DOMINIQUE (1949– ), French economist. Strauss-Kahn graduated in law and then specialized in economics. From 1980 to 1990 he was professor at Paris' Nanterre University. From 1986 he was a deputy in the National Assembly, where he was president of the finance committee before being appointed minister of industry and foreign trade (1991–93), being regarded as one of the leading experts in the Socialist party on economic affairs. Among his many activities as minister were special efforts to strengthen trade relations between France and Israel. In 1995 Strauss-Kahn was elected mayor of Sarcelles and in 1997 was appointed minister of the economy, finance, and industry, leading France to a period of prosperity. Accused of receiving a bogus fee from an insurance company, he resigned in 1999, denying any guilt. He became a deputy again in 2001. (Gideon Kouts)