PARIS (AP) — Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the president of France from 1974 to 1981 who became a champion of European integration, has died at the age of 94, his office and the French presidency announced Wednesday night.

Giscard d’Estaing had recently been hospitalized in Tours, in central France. His office did not provide further details.

Born in 1926, Giscard d’Estaing served in the Free French army that helped liberate France during World War II. Charles de Gaulle named him finance minister at age 36. As president, he helped forge a single Europe with his close friend, German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.