Valery Giscard d'Estaing fought in the French resistance during World War II. Post-war, he attended the École Nationale d'Administration and in 1956, he became a member of the National Assembly as an Independent Republican. Giscard was Minister of Finance from 1962 to 1974. After the death of President Pompidou in 1974, Giscard was elected President. In 1981 he lost his bid for re-election to Francois Mitterrand. Bibliography: Frears, J.R. France in the Giscard Presidency . 1981. Unwin Hyman.