1981, a couple of months before the election of François Mitterrand. The new President maintained him in his post until his legal retiring age at retirement in 1985, while he totalized forty one years of service. Titular of the Volunteer combatant's cross and the Combatant's Cross, général Jeannou Lacaze is a Grand Officer of Légion d'honneur. He is decorated with the Cross for Military Valour with three stars and the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures with one palm and two stars. 1986 to 2005 In 1986, he became the special counselor near the ministre français de la Défense for the military relations with the African countries having signed defense accords. He became the counselor of the several African Presidents : (Mobutu Sese Seko, Denis Sassou Nguesso and Félix Houphouet-Boigny) He went several times to Iraq before the Invasion of Kuwait in 1991 to sustain the promotion of French armament and French savoir-faire to the regime of Saddam Hussein. He acted as a "character witness" during the trial of mercenary Bob Denard in 1999. In 1989, he launched himself into politics. He was a European deputy from () from 1989 to 1994, under the etiquette of the National Centre of Independents and Peasants CNIP () before creating his own political party of the Independent Union () UDI. He exercised as well the honorary presidency association Paris solidarité métro (struggle against social exclusion). He was surnamed the « le sphinx », from the fact that barely rarely spoke and kept numerous intelligences from him. In 1995, he founded the Franco-Iraqi commercial Council, for armament promotion to Saddam Hussein. He died on Monday 1 August 2005 at the age of 81, his funeral procession took place on 4 August in the cours d'honneur at Les Invalides in Paris. Recognitions and Honors Grand Officier of the Légion d'Honneur Grand Officier de l'ordre national du Mérite Volunteer combatant's cross Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Combatant's Cross Croix de la Valeur Militaire Medaille d'Outre-Mer (clasps « Lebanon », « Tchad » ) Médaille commémorative de la campagne d'Indochine Médaille commémorative des opérations de sécurité et de maintien de l'ordre en Afrique du Nord Jeannou Lacaze was cited 6 times out of which one was at the orders of army. He is also the author of a book that appeared in 1991 "Le Président et le champignon" (The President and the "Mushroom"), where