Jacques Delors, architect of the modern EU and 'Mr. Europe,' dies at 98

Jacques Delors of France, president of the European Commission, meets Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for talks at 10 Downing Street, London, on Nov. 26, 1986. Delors has died in Paris at age 98. (Bob Dear/AP)

BRUSSELS — Jacques Delors, a Paris bank messenger's son who became the visionary and builder of a more unified Europe in his momentous decade as chief executive of the European Union, has died in Paris, the Delors Institute think tank told The Associated Press on Wednesday. He was 98.

"The whole of Europe mourns the death of one of its greatest architects," the institute said in a statement. "The best results of European integration cannot be dissociated from the vision, the courage, the conviction, the perseverance and the relentless work which characterized Jacques Delors' work during his 10 years at the head of the European Commission."