Honorary Doctorate Awarded to Jacques Delors
Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Law and Economics
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The University of Greifswald’s Faculty of Law and Economics awarded an honorary doctorate to Jacques Delors, French politician of the French Socialist Party, on 12 May 1994.
The University of Greifswald honoured Jacques Delors in many ways: he played a decisive role in the realisation of the Economic and Monetary Union. He also spoke out in favour of the reunification of the FRG and the GDR, as, in his opinion, this was of very high political importance for Germany. As a member of the Club of Rome and on the board of trustees of the initiative A Soul for Europe, he is committed to a worthwhile and sustainable future for humanity and works to harness Europe's cultural potential for the process of European unification. He is also a member of the Spinelli Group, which promotes European federalism, and he is head of the think tank Notre Europe, which, together with the Hertie School of Governance, funds the Jacques Delors Institute Berlin.
Jacques Lucien Jean Delors was born in Paris in 1925.
His political career began with his work as a Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1981. He then took over as French Minister of the Economy and Finance in the Mauroy Cabinet from 1981 to 1984. During this time, he was responsible for an experiment in socialist economic policy within a free market economy. From 1985 to 1995, Delors was President of the European Commission and chaired three commissions. In 1995, he declined to run for President to succeed François Mitterrand. This decision was also linked to his withdrawal from French day-to-day politics.
After Jean Monnet, Jacques Delors was probably the most influential European politician during his active career.