Bernard Destremau
Encyclopedia
Bernard Destremau was a top-level French
tennis
player, diplomat and politician.
A precocious French junior champion, Destremau later won several major tournaments including the 1941 and the 1942 French Championships, which was at the time restricted to players either from countries under German occupation or countries allied with Germany. He also won the 1938 French Championships doubles (with Petra, beating Budge-Mako in four sets), was a semi-finalist in 1937 in singles (losing to Henkel), and won several national titles including the 1951 and 1953 French National singles championships. He stayed an amateur and devoted his tennis mostly to the Davis Cup
, the King of Sweden Cup and team matches. As a veteran he won the Wimbledon over-45 doubles event with Bill Talbert, in 1965.
During the war he escaped from occupied France to Spain and North Africa. After joining the Free French forces as a tank officer, he fought in France and Germany, was wounded in combat three times and received the Legion of Honour. After the war, still playing tennis for France, he became a diplomat and a politician. He was elected representative for Versailles from 1967 to 1973, became Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1974 to 1976 and eventually was made ambassador to Argentina.
A prolific writer of books on history and politics, he became a member of the French Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques in 1996.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player, diplomat and politician.
A precocious French junior champion, Destremau later won several major tournaments including the 1941 and the 1942 French Championships, which was at the time restricted to players either from countries under German occupation or countries allied with Germany. He also won the 1938 French Championships doubles (with Petra, beating Budge-Mako in four sets), was a semi-finalist in 1937 in singles (losing to Henkel), and won several national titles including the 1951 and 1953 French National singles championships. He stayed an amateur and devoted his tennis mostly to the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
, the King of Sweden Cup and team matches. As a veteran he won the Wimbledon over-45 doubles event with Bill Talbert, in 1965.
During the war he escaped from occupied France to Spain and North Africa. After joining the Free French forces as a tank officer, he fought in France and Germany, was wounded in combat three times and received the Legion of Honour. After the war, still playing tennis for France, he became a diplomat and a politician. He was elected representative for Versailles from 1967 to 1973, became Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1974 to 1976 and eventually was made ambassador to Argentina.
A prolific writer of books on history and politics, he became a member of the French Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques in 1996.