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Events on Monday 8 January 1996 2
1916 – 1996Francois MitterrandLongest Serving PresidentThe first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic, serving for 14 years.
1916 – 1996François Mitterrand (1916-1996)Died 8 January 1996, aged 79François Mitterrand served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest tenure in French republican history. He was the first Socialist elected to the office under the Fifth Republic and oversaw major reforms including abolition of the death penalty. He died of prostate cancer in Paris shortly after leaving office.