Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a member of the French National Assembly and professor of economics at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Paris.

He began his career as assistant professor, then professor of economics at the University of Paris where he was tenured in 1978. He was then appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Economic Planning Agency (1981-1986).

He belongs to the right wing of the French Socialist Party and is known as a business-oriented economist. He was elected Deputy (Member of Parliament) to the National Assembly (1986), where he chaired the Finance Commission from 1988 to 1991. He served as Minister of Industry and International Trade in the cabinets of Mrs. Cresson (1991-1992) and Mr. Beregovoy (1992-1993). During this period, under his international trade capacity, he participated in the Uruguay Round.

Between 1993 and 1997, Mr. Strauss-Kahn went back to the private sector as a corporate lawyer.

He then served as Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry of France from June 1997 to November 1999. He is best known for his success in managing the launch of the Euro and was active in creating the Eurogroup in order to manage this newly created single currency. He is also credited for the high level of economic growth in France during this period as well as for much industrial success such as the privatization of the French aerospace industry, developing a European giant, EADS, in collaboration with Germany, the U.K., and Spain.

In 2000 and 2001, he taught economics at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and was named visiting professor at Stanford University. He was also a personal advisor to the Secretary General of the OECD.

From 2001 to 2007, he was reelected three times to the National Assembly.

His training includes a PhD in economics from the University of Paris. He also graduated in law, in business administration, in political studies, and in statistics. As an academic, his research fields include household saving behavior, public finance, and social policy.

He was born in 1949 and grew up in Morocco. He is married to Anne Sinclair, a well-known French journalist.

He is fluent in French, English, and German and has intermediate-level Spanish. He is passionate about information technology and is fond of classical music and art. He loves to ski and play chess.