Cresson, Edith (1934—)

French economist and politician who was France's first woman prime minister. Born in France in 1934.

Edith Cresson joined the Socialist Party (PS) in 1975. She served as mayor of Thure (1977) and from her seat in the European Parliament (1979) became known as an expert in agriculture. The first woman to head the Ministry of Agriculture (1981–83), Cresson then moved into positions as trade minister (1983–84 and 1984–86) and minister for European affairs (1988). She resigned in 1990 and took a senior post with the Schneider engineering group. Cresson was regarded as a steadfast fighter and a French trade protectionist who was staunchly pro-business. In May 1991, François Mitterand appointed her prime minister, and Cresson had the distinction of being the first woman in the country's history to hold this post. Her stay as prime minister, however, would prove short-lived. Mitterand had hoped that Cresson would build the country's economic strength, but she was forced to resign after the Socialist Party's defeat in regional elections in April 1992, only ten months into her appointment.

In 1994, she was nominated to be one of France's members of the European Commission, the administrative and executive arm of the European Union (EU), to serve from January 1995. In March 1998, Cresson resigned, along with 20 other members of the Commission, after a damning report found several of them guilty of "favoritism." Cresson had appointed her personal, hometown dentist to be her science adviser, an ill-advised move that drew charges of nepotism. When not holding public office, Cresson works as a business consultant.