Cheysson was born in
Paris and attended the
Cours Hattemer, a private school. He fled from France during World War II and joined the
2nd Armored Division of
General Leclerc, serving as a second lieutenant in the 12th Chasseurs d'Afrique Regiment. He joined the Foreign Ministry in 1948 and became head of the liaison service with the West German authorities the following year. As he moved through the ranks of the Foreign Ministry, he served as counsellor to the president of the government of
French Indochina in 1952, cabinet chief of
Premier Pierre Mendès France from 1954 to 1955, and general secretary of the Commission for Technical Cooperation in Africa from 1957 to 1962. He was director of the
Organisme Saharien from 1962 until 1965, and ambassador to
Indonesia from 1966 to 1969. In 1973, Cheysson was appointed the French
European Commissioner. His first post, which he held until 1977, was in charge of development policy, cooperation,
budgets, and financial control. From 1977 until 1981, he took on the development portfolio. In 1981 he left the commission and became a member of the French Government, serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs until 1984. (The ministry was renamed as the Ministry of External Relations, but the previous name was re-established in 1986.) He joined the
Delors Commission, where he was responsible for
Mediterranean policy and north–south relations, from 1985 to 1989. By 1999, Cheysson joined the ''
Collectif Liberté pour l'Afghanistan'', an organization lobbying for the West to stop tolerating the
Taliban and "
Osama bin Laden, the millionaire
Saudi financier of terror". == Notes ==