Ex-French President Jacques Chirac Is Dead

He championed the cause of a united Europe & stood against the U.S.-led Iraq war

- 

Jacques Chirac, who molded the legacy of Charles de Gaulle into a personal power base that made him one of the dominant leaders of France across three decades and a vocal advocate of European unity, died on Thursday at his home in Paris. He was 86.

Mr. Chirac was elected to two consecutive terms as President, beginning in 1995, having already served as Prime Minister under centrist and Socialist presidents.