Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the French National Front Party (now called National Rally), has passed away at the age of 96 in a care facility “surrounded by his loved ones,” according to a statement from his family cited by national media.
He served as president of the National Front from 1972 to 2011 and Honorary President of the same party from 2011 to 2015.
Born in 1928 to a fisherman and a seamstress, Le Pen worked in various professions throughout his life, including as a fisherman, miner, and apartment topographer.
He also volunteered for the French Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment twice and was involved in the 1956 Suez Crisis and the 1957 Algerian War.
Le Pen began his political career in the 1950s and was elected twice to the French National Assembly between 1956 and 1962 before founding his party, the National Front, in 1972.
