Paris, 27 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Jacques Delors, the former president of the European Commission, has died at the age of 98, according to French media reports citing his daughter Martine Aubry.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to him on the online platform X as a "fighter for human justice".

A French Socialist, Delors ran the European Commission from 1985 until 1995.

Born in Paris in 1925, he initially became known in France as a deputy governor of the French central bank. A centrist, he only joined the French Socialist Party in 1974.

He then became economic policy spokesman to French former president Francois Mitterrand, he became minister of the economy and finance in 1981.

On departing from the Commission post, he was praised as a visionary with a highly analytical mind. Others said he had put a soul in the faceless business of European integration.

He is also remembered for his swift encouragement for the reunification of Germany in 1990.

Photo: MIA archive