The former French President, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing died Wednesday at the age of 94 after contracting coronavirus. 

The family of the deceased said in a statement that he died Dec. 2 at his home in Loir-et-Cher, France, after his health had deteriorated due to COVID-19 complications.

“In accordance with his wishes, his funeral will take place in the strictest family intimacy,” his family told AFP.

Giscard d'Estaing served as France’s leader from 1974 to 1981. He was the youngest leader of the Fifth Republic until Emmanuel Macron won the presidency in 2017 at the age of 39.