Born to Greek and Hungarian immigrant parents, Sarkozy studied law at university and then political science at the Institut d’Études Politiques (1979–81). He pursued a career on the right wing of French politics, being elected mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine (1993–2002) and becoming Budget Minister under Édouard Balladur (1993–95). Differences with President Jacques Chirac kept him out of office until 2002, after which he served as Minister of the Interior (2002–04; 2005–07) and Minister of Finance (2004). He gained a high profile with his hard-line response to riots in 2005 and was elected President of France in 2007 on a platform of free-market reform. As President he implemented some of this programme and reintegrated France into NATO’s military structure (2009); he also played a leading role in the EU and in providing military support for Libyan opponents of the Gaddafi regime (2011). However, his popularity declined as France’s economic situation worsened and he was defeated in the 2012 presidential election by François Hollande. In 2014 he was charged with corruption over the finances of his 2007 presidential campaign, and in 2017 was ordered to stand trial.