As president of the European Commission 1984-94, he oversaw significant budgetary reform and the move towards a free European Community (now European Union) market, with increased powers residing in Brussels. Delors worked as social-affairs adviser to Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas 1969-72 before joining the Socialist Party 1973. He served as minister of economy and finance (and, later, budget) in the administration of President Mitterrand 1981-84, overseeing an austerity programme ("rigueur") from June 1982. Having been passed over for the post of prime minister, Delors left to become president of the European Commission. Although criticized by some as being too federalist in outlook, he generally enjoyed a high-profile, successful presidency, including overseeing final ratification and implementation of the Maastricht Treaty on European union and negotiating the Uruguay round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), concluded 1993.
