Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund who has been considered a likely candidate for the French presidency, was taken into custody on Saturday at JFK airport in New York and was being questioned in regard to a sexual assault.
The following are some key dates in his life.
1949: Born in Neuilly, west of Paris, on April 25
1955: Moves with family to Agadir, Morocco
1960: Family quits Agadir for Monaco after quake kills 30,000
1967: Marries Helene Dumas, first of three wives
1971: Obtains diploma from HEC, elite third-level school
1973: Fails at ENA elite civil service academy; enters CNRS state research institute as economics researcher
1975: Receives economics doctorate
1977: Joins Socialist Party, continues as economics professor
1986: Elected to National Assembly as representative for Haute Savoie; Marries communications entrepreneur Brigitte Guillemette
1991: First government post as industry minister; marries star TV journalist Anne Sinclair, current spouse
1993: Loses parliament seat, sets up industry lobby
1995: Elected mayor of "melting pot" Sarcelles, north of Paris
1997: Wins back parliamentary seat, as representative for Val-d'Oise; named finance minister
1999: Resigns as finance minister, engulfed by suspicion surrounding his dealings with Socialist-linked student health insurer MNEF; later acquitted
2007: Becomes managing director of IMF for five-year term, on a salary of $420,930 per year, and additional "allowance" of $75,350