FITERMAN, CHARLES

FITERMAN, CHARLES (1933– ), French politician. Born in Saint Etienne, France, Fiterman, a qualified electrician by trade, made his way to the number two position in the French Communist party, the second largest communist party in the Western world. In the first Mitterrand administration (1981–1984) he was one of the four communist ministers and was in charge of transport. Fiterman is a cool, moderate politician who follows traditional party lines. His unsuccessful challenge to the leadership of the Communist party by Georges Marchais led to his exclusion from central positions in the party and he became one of the leaders of the "reformers" wing demanding reform and modernization of the remaining traditional communist parties in the world. (Gideon Kouts)