CHRONOLOGY: Events in life of French president Chirac

(Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac announced on Sunday he would not seek re-election as president, bringing the curtain down on a political career that has spanned more than 40 years.

Here is a chronology of his life:

November 1932 - Born, the son of a company director in Paris.

March 1956 - Marries Bernadette. The couple have two children, Laurence and Claude.

April 1962 - Chirac joins the staff of Georges Pompidou, then prime minister under President Charles de Gaulle.

May 1968 - Helps negotiate an end to student riots.

May 1974 - Nominated prime minister by President Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Resigns in 1976.

1977 - Chirac is elected mayor of Paris starting an 18-year run in the job, which he holds alongside other positions.

1986 - Nominated prime minister by President Francois Mitterrand. Stays in office until 1988.

May 1995 - Chirac wins the presidential election at his third attempt after abandoning his earlier support of Thatcherite economic reform in favor of pledges to boost welfare. The election ended 14 years of a Socialist presidency.

June 1995 - Chirac announces France will stage underground nuclear tests in French Polynesia before signing a total test ban treaty. His decision sparks international outrage.

July 1995 - Chirac is first French head of state to recognize the role of France's Vichy regime in World War Two Holocaust, saying it had "forever stained" French history.

June 1997 - Chirac calls early elections to try to win support for his conservative economic program. The leftist opposition sweeps away his big majority and he is forced to share power with Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

Sept 2000 - Chirac is directly implicated in a corruption case tied to his time as Paris mayor. He dismisses allegation as "abracadabra-esque" and is protected by presidential immunity.

June 2001 - Military conscription abolished after 96 years.

Sept 2001 - Chirac is first foreign leader to visit United States after September 11 attacks.