Paris, Dec 3 (IANS): Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the President of France from 1974 to 1981 and a key actor in European integration, has passed away at the age of 94, the media reported.

Giscard d'Estaing died on Wednesday evening "surrounded by his family" on his property in Authon in Loir-et-Cher, west France, Xinhua news agency quoted Europe 1 radio as saying in a report.

The former President had been hospitalized several times in recent months for heart problems.

He had made one of his last public appearances on September 30, 2019 during the funeral in Paris of another former president, Jacques Chirac.

In 1974, after the sudden death of President Georges Pompidou, Giscard d'Estaing announced his candidacy for the presidency and narrowly defeated Francois Mitterrand in the run-off.

During his seven years at the Elysee, Giscard d'Estaing firmly supported European integration and worked with Germany's former chancellor Helmut Schmidt to create the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1979, which would give birth to the euro, Europe's single common currency, two decades later.

A BBC report said that a centre-right, pro-Europe politician, Giscard d'Estaing also liberalised laws on divorce, abortion and contraception during his seven years in power.