Biography
Jean d'Ormesson was born in Paris and grew up in Bavaria. His father was André Lefèvre, Marquis of Ormesson, French ambassador to Brazil. Wladimir d'Ormesson (1888-1973), ambassador to the Vatican, was his uncle.
He was admitted to the École normale supérieure and passed the philosophy agrégation. He later became Secretary-General of the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies at UNESCO and the director of the French newspaper Le Figaro from 1974 to 1979.
On October 18, 1973, he was elected a member of the Académie française, taking seat 12, following the death of Jules Romains. On the death of Claude Lévi-Strauss on 30 October 2009, he became the Dean of the Académie, its longest-serving member. He is also a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. In 2010, he was awarded the Ovid Prize, Romania, in recognition of his body of work and he is Commander of the Order of the Southern Cross of Brazil.
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