Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Dominique Strauss-Kahn (2008)

Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn [ dɔmiˈnik stʀosˈkan ] or [ dɔmiˈnik ʃtʀosˈkan ] (born April 25, 1949 in Neuilly-sur-Seine ), often called DSK in France , is a French politician of the Socialist Party of France . From 1997 to 1999 he was Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin . From November 1, 2007 to May 18, 2011, he was the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) . A series of sexual offense allegations ended his political career in 2011.

Life

On her father's side, Dominique Strauss-Kahn comes from a family of French Jews from Alsace. He grew up bilingual and speaks French and German fluently.

His Franco-Tunisian mother was a journalist for the socialist newspaper Le Populaire , his father came from Alsace and was a legal and financial advisor. Dominique Strauss later added the addition of Kahn to his name out of a bond with his grandfather Marius Kahn .

The family had lived in the French protectorate of Morocco since 1951 . After the severe earthquake in Agadir in 1960 , she moved to Monaco . Dominique then studied at the HEC business school and at the Grande école Sciences Po in Paris.

Strauss-Kahn has been married three times and has four children. In 1991 he married Anne Sinclair (* 1948), who was a reporter for the TV station TF1 and presenter of the political program 7 sur 7 . In early September 2012, it was announced that Sinclair had confirmed the separation from him in an interview. Since March 2013, Strauss-Kahn has been officially divorced from Anne Sinclair.

Professional and political career

Strauss-Kahn gives a speech at a socialist conference in May 2007

From 1977 to 1980 he was a professor of economics at the University of Nancy II . In 1981 he moved to the University of Nanterre and the ENA School of Administration . Until 2007 he gave courses in microeconomics and macroeconomics at the Sciences Po Paris University .

In 1971 he worked at the Marxist-oriented study and education center under Jean-Pierre Chevènement (Center d'études, de recherches et d'éducation socialiste, CERES) on saving behavior and in 1982 published a book under the title L'épargne et la retraite ( Saving and retirement ). In the same year he took a position in the planning office ( Commissariat général du Plan ), of which he became deputy head. In 1986 he was elected a member of the National Assembly for the Haute-Savoie department and re - elected two years later, but this time for the Val-d'Oise department . As part of these mandates, he took over the chairmanship of the finance committee.

Ministerial offices

Under President François Mitterrand , he became Minister Delegate for Industry and Foreign Trade in the government of Édith Cresson in 1991 . He was offered this office again in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy until he switched to the judiciary as a lawyer in 1993 after the elections to the National Assembly. In the same year he took over the leadership of a commission of experts within the Socialist Party and at the same time founded the law firm DSK Consultants , which focused on lobbying in Brussels. In 1995 he was elected mayor of Sarcelles .

When Lionel Jospin took over the government in 1997 , he made him Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry . Strauss-Kahn thus became one of the central figures in the Jospin cabinet . Successes in French economic policy, in particular a significant drop in the unemployment rate , also consolidated his position within the party. In addition to the privatization of state-owned companies, France's preparations for the introduction of the euro also received international recognition.

As a result of a judicial scandal related to his work as a lawyer, he resigned from his ministerial office in 1999. In the end, he was completely exonerated on the matter in question and was re-elected to the National Assembly in 2001 by a by-election in Val-d'Oise . In 2002 and 2007 he was re-elected. At the end of 2004 he rose to the top of the Socialist Party again alongside Jack Lang and Martine Aubry .

Presidential Candidate and IMF Director

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was defeated by Ségolène Royal as the French Socialist candidate for the 2007 presidential election . In November 2006, Ségolène Royal was elected as a presidential candidate with over 60% of the votes of party members.

Just as the Conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, newly elected in 2007, moved leading members of the Socialist Party into his camp (including Bernard Kouchner as Foreign Minister), he also proposed Strauss-Kahn for the post of Director of the International Monetary Fund . With the support of the EU and the United States, Dominique Strauss-Kahn was elected on September 28, 2007 as the successor to the outgoing IMF director Rodrigo de Rato . He took office on November 1, 2007.

From 2010 and until his arrest in the USA on May 14, 2011, Strauss-Kahn was considered the most promising candidate of the leftist alliance for the office of French President . During this period, he also outperformed incumbent bourgeois President Nicolas Sarkozy in most polls and, despite the reluctance required due to his role at the IMF, actively prepared for the presidential election in April and May 2012 . According to a report on BFM TV , he planned to officially announce his candidacy on June 28, 2011. In a television interview on September 18, 2011, he first publicly confirmed that he would have wanted to run in the 2012 presidential election. However, he ruled out a candidacy after his arrest and release in the USA.

Late tasks

Since May 2013 he has been a member of the strategy committee of the newly established National Credit Bank (NCB) in South Sudan . In July 2013, it was announced that he was taking on a supervisory board mandate at the Russian Regional Development Bank , a subsidiary of the state-owned oil company Rosneft . In the same year, Aleksandar Vučić was appointed economic advisor to the Serbian government . He was also head of the supervisory board and co-partner of the investment bank Leyne, Strauss-Kahn & Partners in Luxembourg. In 2016 Strauss-Kahn became a member of the supervisory board of the Ukrainian bank Kredit Dnipro , owned by Viktor Pinchuk .

accusations

Alleged abuse of office at the IMF

In mid-October 2008 it became known that the IMF had opened an investigation into Strauss-Kahn. External lawyers should check whether the IMF director had abused his office for a sexual relationship with an employee. According to his own statements, Strauss-Kahn worked with the investigators and assessed the affair as an "incident that took place in my private life". He denied having abused his position of power. The IMF exonerated Strauss-Kahn after investigating the incident, but at the same time described it as regrettable.

Rape allegation in the US

Strauss-Kahn was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on May 14, 2011 while on a private trip . He was charged with attempted rape, sexual harassment and deprivation of liberty of a maid at the New York Sofitel Hotel by the New York City Attorney's Office . After a judge refused to be released on bail because of the risk of escape, Strauss-Kahn was relocated to New York's prison island Rikers Island . Strauss-Kahn had no immunity at the time of his arrest , either personally or functionally. On May 18, 2011, he resigned from his position as Managing Director of the IMF. On May 19, 2011, a New York court ruled that Strauss-Kahn would be released from custody on May 20, 2011, subject to conditions including the deposit of six million US dollars on bail. He has since been under house arrest and had to wear an electronic ankle cuff . Strauss-Kahn was defended by the lawyer Benjamin Brafman , who had previously appeared publicly as a criminal defense lawyer for prominent persons. On June 6, 2011, Strauss-Kahn pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial.

After the public prosecutor's office had well-founded doubts about the credibility of the alleged rape victim from Guinea , Strauss-Kahn's house arrest was lifted on July 1, 2011 by a New York judge, subject to conditions (withholding of passport , i.e. travel ban). In August 2011, the alleged victim filed a civil lawsuit against Strauss-Kahn, demanding an undisclosed amount of damages. On August 22, 2011, the public prosecutor asked the court to drop the lawsuit against Strauss-Kahn. She justified this with doubts about the credibility of the alleged victim. On August 23, the court decided to drop the criminal charges. The woman stuck to the civil proceedings.

On September 3, 2011, Strauss-Kahn flew back to France from New York. In the first television interview after his return to France on September 18, 2011, Strauss-Kahn said that he had an “inappropriate relationship” with the hotel's employees, but that no criminal act had taken place; neither violence nor coercion was involved.

On September 26, 2011, Strauss-Kahn moved in a court in New York to dismiss the hotel employees' civil complaint. As a justification, his lawyer stated that Strauss-Kahn enjoyed "complete immunity" at the time the woman filed the lawsuit. On December 10, 2012, Strauss-Kahn's lawyers reached an agreement with the plaintiff. The parties agreed not to disclose the details of the agreement. This settlement made Strauss-Kahn's libel suit against the woman invalid.

The Banon case

After a criminal complaint by the author Tristane Banon on charges of attempted rape in 2003, the public prosecutor in France initiated preliminary investigations against Strauss-Kahn on July 8, 2011. Strauss-Kahn denied the allegations and charged Banon with defamation . On October 13, 2011, the preliminary investigations were closed. According to the public prosecutor's office, there was no attempted rape, only a "sexual assault", which is already time barred.

Acquittal on accusation of severe pimping

On March 26, 2012, the French public prosecutor initiated an investigation against Strauss-Kahn. He was suspected of being involved in gang pimping at sponsored sex parties . Strauss-Kahn admitted participating in such parties, but denied having known that the women were prostitutes . After hours of questioning, he was released on bail under certain conditions . Investigations into suspected rape in the complex were closed in early October 2012, but the suspected pimping proceedings were not affected. The charge was for "severe pimping". The lawsuit stated that the women were surrounded by a "veritable law of silence", a kind of " omertà ", to protect the politician . The criminal case against Strauss-Kahn and 13 other men from the brothel industry began on February 2, 2015. On June 12, 2015, the criminal court of the northern French city of Lille acquitted him of all allegations.

Electoral mandates

• 1986–1988: Member of the National Assembly for the Haute-Savoie department
• 1988–1991: Member of the National Assembly for the 8th constituency in the Val-d'Oise department
• 1989-1990: Member of the Municipal Council of Sarcelles (Val-d'Oise)
• 1990–1995: Member of the Sarcelles Municipal Council (Val-d'Oise)
• 1991–1992: Minister Delegate for Industry and Foreign Trade (in the Ministry of Finance)
• 1992–1993: Minister for Industry and Foreign Trade
• 1995–2001: Member of the Sarcelles Municipal Council (Val-d'Oise)
• 1995–1997: Mayor of Sarcelles (Val-d'Oise)
• 1997: Member of the National Assembly for the 8th constituency in the Val-d'Oise department
• 1997–2001: Deputy Mayor of Sarcelles (Val-d'Oise)
• 1997–1999: Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry
• 2001–2007: Member of the National Assembly for the 8th constituency in the Val-d'Oise department
• 2002–2007: Chairman of the Val de France Municipal Association (Sarcelles and three other municipalities)
• 2007–2011: 10th Director of the IMF

Honors

In November 2005 Dominique Strauss-Kahn received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Friborg (Switzerland) .

Publications

• La flamme et la cendre ("The Flame and the Ashes"), 2002
• Oui! Lettre ouverte aux enfants d'Europe (“Yes! Open letter to the children of Europe”), 2004

literature

• Cassandre: DSK: Les secrets d'un présidentiable. Plon, 2010, ISBN 978-2-259-21200-7 .
• Michel Taubmann : Le roman vrai de Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Editions du Moment, 2011, ISBN 978-2-354-17089-9 . (Biography)
• Michel Taubmann: Affaires DSK, la contre-enquête. Editions du Moment, 2011, ISBN 978-2-354-17138-4 .
• Edward Jay Epstein : Three Days in May. Sex, Surveillance, and DSK. Melville House Publishing, 2012, ISBN 978-1-61219-196-6 .
• Marcela Iacub : Belle et Bête , Paris, Stock, 2013 ISBN 978-2-234-07490-3

documentation

• Un an avec DSK - Au cœur du FMI . A film by Nicolas Escoulan, François Lescalier and Chloé Davant, 2011.

Web links

Commons : Dominique Strauss-Kahn  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

 Wikinews: Dominique Strauss-Kahn  - in the news

• Literature by and about Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the catalog of the German National Library
• Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the Internet Movie Database (English)
• IMF : Biography of Dominique Strauss-Kahn from November 1, 2007 (accessed May 18, 2011)
• Dominique Strauss-Kahn on the website of the French National Assembly for the 13th legislative period (French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ FAZ : Strauss-Kahn has to be patient from July 9, 2007 (accessed on March 4, 2015)
2. ↑ ^{a b} Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the Munzinger archive , accessed on July 14, 2011 ( beginning of article freely available)
3. ^ Affaire DSK: Anne Sinclair, combative et effondrée , Le Monde, May 18, 2011.
4. ^ Scenes from a marriage , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of May 22, 2011.
5. ↑ Portrait of the Elysée Palace and hotel rooms in: sueddeutsche.de of May 15, 2011.
6. ↑ Stefan Ulrich: Anne Sinclair, unwavering in her loyalty. sueddeutsche.de, May 17, 2011.
7. ↑ Interview with Le Parisien magazine : www.leparisien.fr August 31, 2012: Anne Sinclair: "Je vais très bien, merci"
8. ↑ handelsblatt.com: Strauss-Kahn is single again
9. ^ DSK et Anne Sinclair ont officiellement divorcé la semaine dernière. La page est définitivement tournée (French). voici.fr. March 23, 2013. Accessed January 1, 2016.
10. ↑ Strauss-Kahn becomes the new head of the Monetary Fund. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of September 28, 2007 (accessed on May 16, 2011).
11. ↑ Le baromètre des primaires du PS ( Memento of November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). IFOP poll of April 2011 published in France Soir .
12. ↑ Sondage presidential 2012. Sauf pour DSK, rien n'est joué. ( Memento of the original from July 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. IFOP poll of 20/21 April 2011 appeared in Paris Match . 
13. ↑ DSK candidat: advertisement possible le 28 June. In: Le Parisien on May 3, 2011.
14. ↑ Strauss-Kahn admits "moral error". In: faz.net of September 18, 2011.
15. ↑ ^{a b} Strauss-Kahn admits “moral mistakes”. In: Focus Online from September 18, 2011.
16. ↑ Sebastian Bräuer: Strauss-Kahn's comeback in the desert ( Memento from January 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) In: NZZ am Sonntag from May 19, 2013.
17. ^ Spiegel Online - Dominique Strauss-Kahn becomes supervisor at Rosneft daughter . Article of July 15, 2013.
18. ↑ Strauss-Kahn hired to advise Serbia ( en ) France24. September 13, 2013. Accessed June 17, 2020.
19. ↑ Strauss-Kahn and his seedy business friend in: Wall Street Journal of December 5, 2014, accessed March 30, 2015.
20. ↑ Ex-IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn works for Ukrainian bank - manager magazin . In: manager magazin . ( manager-magazin.de [accessed on April 17, 2017]).
21. ↑ Strauss-Kahn in distress because of sex affair. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of October 18, 2008 (accessed on May 16, 2011).
22. ↑ Favoring affair at the IMF: Dominique Strauss-Kahn exonerated. In: Radio France Internationale of October 26, 2008 (accessed May 16, 2011)
23. ^ IMF Statements on IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn
24. ^ The New York Times : IMF Chief, Apprehended at Airport, Is Accused of Sexual Attack, May 14, 2011 (accessed May 16, 2011)
25. ↑ FAZ : Strauss-Kahn arrested on May 15, 2011 (accessed on March 4, 2015)
26. ↑ Die Zeit : IMF boss Strauss-Kahn charged with attempted rape on May 15, 2011 (accessed on May 16, 2011)
27. ↑ Die Welt : Strauss-Kahn arrested for sex attack on May 15, 2011 (accessed on May 16, 2011)
28. ↑ FTD : Strauss-Kahn on Rikers Island in solitary confinement ( memento from May 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) from May 17, 2011 (accessed on May 18, 2011)
29. ↑ Cf. Przemyslaw Roguski: Arrest of "DSK": IMF office does not protect against punishment . In: Legal Tribune Online , May 16, 2011. Accessed May 20, 2011. For the legal background, see also → main article diplomatic status .
30. ^ IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Resigns. Press release in: IMF of May 18, 2011.
31. ↑ IMF boss Strauss-Kahn resigns in: Spiegel Online from May 19, 2011.
32. ↑ Strauss-Kahn is released on bail in: Spiegel Online from May 19, 2011.
33. ↑ A man for desperate cases in: Süddeutsche Zeitung of May 16, 2011
34. ↑ Strauss-Kahn pleads not guilty ( memento of June 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) on tagesschau.de, accessed on June 6, 2011.
35. ^ Letter From District Attorney to Defense in Strauss-Kahn Case Letter from the District Attorney dated June 30, 2011; www.nytimes.com: Strauss-Kahn Case Seen as Near Collapse (June 30, 2011)
36. ^ Strauss-Kahn Accuser's Call Alarmed Prosecutors ; zeit.de July 2nd, 2011: A phone call was the decisive factor. - The Strauss-Kahn case was completely turned around within hours. The decisive phone call had been known for weeks. But it took a long time to translate.
37. ^ Ex-IMF boss Strauss-Kahn is released , Focus, July 1, 2011
38. ↑ Chambermaid demands compensation from Strauss-Kahn in: Spiegel Online from August 9, 2011.
39. ↑ apa / tt: Public prosecutor withdraws charges: Strauss-Kahn is spared trial. tt.com, August 22, 2011, accessed on March 8, 2020 : "Now the public prosecutor's office is admitting that it may have been a" notorious liar "." 
40. ↑ New York Public Prosecutor's Office: DSK Motion to Dismiss. August 22, 2011, accessed on September 19, 2011 : "Application to discontinue criminal proceedings" 
41. ↑ Strauss-Kahn criminal sexual assault case dropped reuters.com of 23 August 2011.
42. ↑ Christiane Heil, Roland Lindner: A case that did not become. In: faz.net , August 23, 2011.
43. ↑ 20 minutes online on September 3, 2011 (updated September 4): Strauss-Kahn landed in Paris. Retrieved September 4, 2011 . 
44. ↑ Strauss-Kahn applies for the cessation of civil proceedings. In: Welt Online from September 27, 2011.
45. ^ Lawyers Say Strauss-Kahn Is Covered by Immunity. In: New York Times, September 26, 2011.
46. ↑ Strauss-Kahn sex affair put aside. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung from December 11, 2012.
47. ^ Ansgar Graw: Strauss-Kahn and the end of a sex affair. In: Die Welt from December 11, 2012.
48. ^ Investigations against Strauss-Kahn in France in: Focus Online from July 8, 2011.
49. ↑ Banon's confession with wine and candlelight in: Tages-Anzeiger of July 11, 2011.
50. ↑ No investigation against Strauss-Kahn in the Banon case. In: Zeit Online from October 13, 2011.
51. ↑ Not a flawless victory for DSK. In: Tages-Anzeiger of October 13, 2011.
52. ↑ sueddeutsche.de: Preliminary proceedings against Strauss-Kahn initiated
53. ↑ Suspected rape: investigation against Strauss-Kahn stopped. Spiegel online, October 2, 2012, accessed October 2, 2012 . 
54. ^ Proceedings against Strauss-Kahn: "It was about the consumption of sex" Spiegel Online, accessed on February 1, 2015.
55. ↑ Pimp trial Did Strauss-Kahn organize sex orgies? , Zeit.de, accessed on February 2, 2015.
56. ↑ Illegal sex parties: Strauss-Kahn acquitted in pimping process . Spiegel Online, June 12, 2015, accessed on the same day.
57. ↑ Stupid, but consensual. In: Spiegel Online from November 30, 2011.
58. ↑ Strauss-Kahn sees himself as a victim of the conspiracy. In: Spiegel Online from April 28, 2012.