Edgar Faure
Encyclopedia
Edgar Faure was a French politician, essayist, historian, and memoirist.
, Languedoc-Roussillon
. He trained as a lawyer in Paris and became a member of the Bar
at 27, the youngest lawyer in France to do so at the time. While living in Paris, he became active in Third Republic
politics, and joined the Radical Party.
During the German
occupation of World War II
, he joined the French Resistance
in the Maquis
, and in 1942 fled to Charles de Gaulle
's headquarters in Algiers
, where he was made head of the Provisional Government of the Republic's legislative department
. At the end of the war he served as French counsel for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials
.
In 1946, he was elected to the French Parliament as a Radical. While the popularity of his party declined to less than 10 per cent of the total vote, none of the other parties was able to gain a clear majority. As such, early on, Faure’s party often played a disproportionately important role in the formation of French governments. In this, he led the cabinet in 1952 and from 1955 to 1956. Faure was a leader of the more conservative wing of the party, opposing the party's left under Pierre Mendès-France
.
Faure's views changed during the Fourth Republic
, and after being initially opposed to the Fifth Republic
(he voted against presidential election by universal suffrage in the 1962 referendum), he eventually became a Gaullist. De Gaulle's party, the Union for the New Republic
, sent him on an unofficial mission to the People's Republic of China in 1963. In government he served in successive ministries: Agriculture (1966–1968), National Education (1968–1969, where he was responsible for pushing through reform of the universities), and Social Affairs (1972–1973). He declined to be a candidate at the 1974 presidential election
, and supported Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
against the Gaullist candidate Jacques Chaban-Delmas
.
He had the reputation of a careerist and the nickname of "weathercock". He replied with humour that "it is not the weathercock which turns; it is the wind!".
He was a member of the National Assembly
for the département of Jura from 1946 to 1958, and for the départment of Doubs from 1967 to 1980. He presided over the French National Assembly
from 1973 to 1978. He sought another term as Assembly President in 1978 but was defeated by Chaban-Delmas. Faure was a Senator from 1959 to 1967 for Jura, and again in 1980 for Doubs. In 1978 he became a Member of the Académie française
.
On the regional, departmental and local levels, Edgar Faure was mayor of Port-Lesney
(Jura) from 1947 to 1971, and from 1983 to 1988, and mayor of Pontarlier
between 1971 and 1977; he served as president of the General Council of the Jura départment from 1949 to 1967, then member of the General Council of the Doubs from 1967 to 1979, president of the council of the Franche-Comté
région (1974–1981, 1982–1988).
Edgar Faure was buried at Cimetière de Passy, Paris.
President of the Council (Prime minister) : January–February 1952 / February–December 1955
Secretary of State for Finances : 1949–1950
Minister of Budget : 1950–1951
Minister of Justice : 1951–1952
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs : 1953–1955
Minister of Foreign Affairs : January–February 1955
Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Planning : May–June 1958
Minister of Agriculture : 1966–1968
Minister of National Education : 1968–1969
Minister of State, Minister of Social Affairs : 1972–1973
Electoral mandates
President of the National Assembly of France : 1973–1978
Member of the National Assembly of France for Doubs
: Elected in 1967, 1968, but he remains minister / 1973–1980
Member of the National Assembly of France for Jura : 1946–1958
Senator of the Jura (departement) : 1959–1966 (Became minister in 1966)
Senator of the Doubs
: 1980–1988 (He died in 1988)
President of the Regional Council of Franche-Comté
: 1974–1981 / 1982–1988 (He died in 1988)
Mayor of Port-Lesney
: 1947–1970 / 1983–1988 (He died in 1988)
Mayor of Pontarlier
: 1971–1977
President of the General council of the Jura : 1949–1967
General councillor of the Jura (departement) : 1967–1979
Changes
Career
Faure was born in BéziersBéziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
, Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the 27 regions of France. It comprises five departments, and borders the other French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées on the one side, and Spain, Andorra and the Mediterranean sea on the other side.-Geography:The region is...
. He trained as a lawyer in Paris and became a member of the Bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
at 27, the youngest lawyer in France to do so at the time. While living in Paris, he became active in Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
politics, and joined the Radical Party.
During the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupation of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he joined the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
in the Maquis
Maquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
, and in 1942 fled to Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
's headquarters in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, where he was made head of the Provisional Government of the Republic's legislative department
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
. At the end of the war he served as French counsel for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
.
In 1946, he was elected to the French Parliament as a Radical. While the popularity of his party declined to less than 10 per cent of the total vote, none of the other parties was able to gain a clear majority. As such, early on, Faure’s party often played a disproportionately important role in the formation of French governments. In this, he led the cabinet in 1952 and from 1955 to 1956. Faure was a leader of the more conservative wing of the party, opposing the party's left under Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès France was a French politician. He descended from a Portuguese Jewish family that moved to France in the sixteenth century.-Third Republic and World War II:...
.
Faure's views changed during the Fourth Republic
French Fourth Republic
The French Fourth Republic was the republican government of France between 1946 and 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Republic, which was in place before World War II, and suffered many of the same problems...
, and after being initially opposed to the Fifth Republic
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
(he voted against presidential election by universal suffrage in the 1962 referendum), he eventually became a Gaullist. De Gaulle's party, the Union for the New Republic
Gaullist Party
In France, the Gaullist Party is usually used to refer to the largest party professing to be Gaullist. Gaullism claimed to transcend the left/right rift...
, sent him on an unofficial mission to the People's Republic of China in 1963. In government he served in successive ministries: Agriculture (1966–1968), National Education (1968–1969, where he was responsible for pushing through reform of the universities), and Social Affairs (1972–1973). He declined to be a candidate at the 1974 presidential election
French presidential election, 1974
Presidential elections were held in :France in 1974, following the death of President Georges Pompidou. They went to a second round, and were won by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing by a margin of 1.6%...
, and supported Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
against the Gaullist candidate Jacques Chaban-Delmas
Jacques Chaban-Delmas
Jacques Chaban-Delmas was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. In addition, for almost half a century, he was Mayor of Bordeaux and a deputy for the Gironde département....
.
He had the reputation of a careerist and the nickname of "weathercock". He replied with humour that "it is not the weathercock which turns; it is the wind!".
He was a member of the National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
for the département of Jura from 1946 to 1958, and for the départment of Doubs from 1967 to 1980. He presided over the French National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
from 1973 to 1978. He sought another term as Assembly President in 1978 but was defeated by Chaban-Delmas. Faure was a Senator from 1959 to 1967 for Jura, and again in 1980 for Doubs. In 1978 he became a Member of the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
.
On the regional, departmental and local levels, Edgar Faure was mayor of Port-Lesney
Port-Lesney
Port-Lesney is a commune in the Jura department' in Franche-Comté in eastern France.-Demographics:As of the census of 1999, the population was 414.The estimate for 2006 was 506.-References:*...
(Jura) from 1947 to 1971, and from 1983 to 1988, and mayor of Pontarlier
Pontarlier
Pontarlier is a commune and one of the two sub-prefectures of the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France.-History:...
between 1971 and 1977; he served as president of the General Council of the Jura départment from 1949 to 1967, then member of the General Council of the Doubs from 1967 to 1979, president of the council of the Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
région (1974–1981, 1982–1988).
Edgar Faure was buried at Cimetière de Passy, Paris.
Political career
Governmental functionsPresident of the Council (Prime minister) : January–February 1952 / February–December 1955
Secretary of State for Finances : 1949–1950
Minister of Budget : 1950–1951
Minister of Justice : 1951–1952
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs : 1953–1955
Minister of Foreign Affairs : January–February 1955
Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Planning : May–June 1958
Minister of Agriculture : 1966–1968
Minister of National Education : 1968–1969
Minister of State, Minister of Social Affairs : 1972–1973
Electoral mandates
President of the National Assembly of France : 1973–1978
Member of the National Assembly of France for Doubs
Doubs
Doubs is a department the Franche-Comté region of eastern France named after the Doubs River.-History:As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the northern two-thirds of Doubs spoke the Franc-Comtois language, a dialect of Langue d'Oïl. Residents of the southern third of Doubs spoke a dialect...
: Elected in 1967, 1968, but he remains minister / 1973–1980
Member of the National Assembly of France for Jura : 1946–1958
Senator of the Jura (departement) : 1959–1966 (Became minister in 1966)
Senator of the Doubs
Doubs
Doubs is a department the Franche-Comté region of eastern France named after the Doubs River.-History:As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the northern two-thirds of Doubs spoke the Franc-Comtois language, a dialect of Langue d'Oïl. Residents of the southern third of Doubs spoke a dialect...
: 1980–1988 (He died in 1988)
President of the Regional Council of Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
: 1974–1981 / 1982–1988 (He died in 1988)
Mayor of Port-Lesney
Port-Lesney
Port-Lesney is a commune in the Jura department' in Franche-Comté in eastern France.-Demographics:As of the census of 1999, the population was 414.The estimate for 2006 was 506.-References:*...
: 1947–1970 / 1983–1988 (He died in 1988)
Mayor of Pontarlier
Pontarlier
Pontarlier is a commune and one of the two sub-prefectures of the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France.-History:...
: 1971–1977
President of the General council of the Jura : 1949–1967
General councillor of the Jura (departement) : 1967–1979
Works
He published the following books:- Le serpent et la tortue (les problèmes de la Chine populaire), Juillard, 1957
- La disgrâce de Turgot, Gallimard, 1961
- La capitation de Dioclétien, Sirey 1961
- Prévoir le présent, Gallimard, 1966
- L'éducation nationale et la participation, PlonPlon (publisher)Plon is a French book publishing company, founded in 1852 by Henri Plon and his two brothers.The Plon family were Walloons coming from Nivelle, France. One of their ancestors is probably the Danish typographer Jehan Plon who lived at the end of the 16th century.-History:The Editions Plon were...
, 1968 - Philosophie d'une réforme, Plon, 1969
- L'âme du combat, Fayard, 1969
- Ce que je crois, Grasset, 1971
- Pour un nouveau contrat social, Seuil, 1973
- Au-delà du dialogue avec Philippe Sollers, Balland, 1977
- La banqueroute de Law, Gallimard, 1977
- La philosophie de Karl Popper et la société politique d'ouverture, Firmin Didot, 1981
- Pascal: le procès des provinciales, Firmin Didot, 1930
- Le pétrole dans la paix et dans la guerre, Nouvelle revue critique 1938
- Mémoires I, "Avoir toujours raison, c'est un grand tort", Plon, 1982
- Mémoires II, "Si tel doit être mon destin ce soir", Plon, 1984
- Discours prononcé pour la réception de Senghor à l'Académie française, le 29 mars 1984
First ministry (20 January – 8 March 1952)
- Edgar Faure – President of the Council and Minister of Finance
- Georges BidaultGeorges BidaultGeorges-Augustin Bidault was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and prime minister on several occasions before he joined the Organisation armée secrète.-Early life:...
– Vice President of the Council and Minister of National Defense - Henri QueuilleHenri QueuilleHenri Queuille was a French Radical politician prominent in the Third and Fourth Republics. After World War II, he served three times as Prime Minister.He was the son of a noblewoman.-First ministry :...
– Vice President of the Council - Robert SchumanRobert SchumanRobert Schuman was a noted Luxembourgish-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat and an independent political thinker and activist...
– Minister of Foreign Affairs - Pierre PflimlinPierre PflimlinPierre Eugène Jean Pflimlin was a French Christian democratic politician who served as the penultimate Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic for a few weeks in 1958, before being replaced by Charles de Gaulle during the crisis of that year.-Life:...
– Minister for the Council of Europe - Maurice Bourgès-MaunouryMaurice Bourgès-MaunouryMaurice Jean Marie Bourgès-Maunoury was a French Radical politician who served as Prime Minister in the Fourth Republic during 1957.He is famous, especially, for fulfilling prominent ministerial role in the government during the Suez Crisis....
– Minister of Armaments - Charles Brune – Minister of the Interior
- Robert BuronRobert BuronRobert Buron was a French politician and Minister of Finance from 20 January 1955 to 23 February 1955 and Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism during Charles de Gaulle's third term from 9 June 1958 to 8 January 1959.Buron was born in Paris, where he also died. He was kidnapped during...
– Minister of Economic Affairs and Information - Pierre CourantPierre CourantPierre Courant was a French politician. He belonged first to the Independent Republicans and then to the National Centre of Independents and Peasants ....
– Minister of Budget - Jean-Marie Louvel – Minister of Industry and Energy
- Paul BaconPaul BaconPaul Bacon was a French politician.During World War 2, Bacon was active in the French Resistance. He was a member of Georges Bidault's National Liberation Movement, and distributed a manifesto about trade unionism in December 1940. Bacon was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943.After the war, Bacon...
– Minister of Labour and Social Security - Léon Martinaud-Deplat – Minister of Justice
- André Morice – Minister of Merchant Marine
- Pierre-Olivier Lapie – Minister of National Education
- Emmanuel Temple – Minister of Veterans and War Victims
- Camille LaurensCamille LaurensCamille Laurens is a French writer and winner of the Prix Femina, 2000, for Dans ces bras-là.-References:...
– Minister of Agriculture - Louis JacquinotLouis JacquinotLouis Jacquinot was a French lawyer and politician, and chief of Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré's office.Jacquinot was born in Gondrecourt-le-Château in 1898. Entering parliament in 1932, he later served for a short time as under-secretary of state for home affairs in Paul Reynaud's cabinet...
– Minister of Overseas France - Antoine PinayAntoine PinayAntoine Pinay |Rhône]], France – 13 December 1994) was a French conservative politician. He served as Prime Minister of France in 1952.-Life:As a young man, Pinay fought in World War I and injured his arm so that it was paralyzed for the rest of his life....
– Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism - Paul Ribeyre – Minister of Public Health and Population
- Eugène Claudius-Petit – Minister of Reconstruction and Town Planning
- Roger Duchet – Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones
- Édouard Bonnefous – Minister of Commerce
- Jean Letourneau – Minister of Partner States
- Joseph LanielJoseph LanielJoseph Laniel was a French conservative politician of the Fourth Republic, who served as Prime Minister for a year from 1953 to 1954. During the middle of his tenure as Prime Minister Laniel was an unsuccessful candidate for the French Presidency, a post won by René Coty...
– Minister of State - François MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
– Minister of State
Second ministry (23 February 1955 – 1 February 1956)
- Edgar Faure – President of the Council
- Antoine PinayAntoine PinayAntoine Pinay |Rhône]], France – 13 December 1994) was a French conservative politician. He served as Prime Minister of France in 1952.-Life:As a young man, Pinay fought in World War I and injured his arm so that it was paralyzed for the rest of his life....
– Minister of Foreign Affairs - Pierre KoenigPierre KoenigPierre Koenig was an American architect.Born in San Francisco, he received his B.Arch. in 1952 from the University of Southern California. Koenig apprenticed under Raphael Soriano, among others, and began private practice in 1952. Koenig practiced mainly on the west coast and was most notable for...
– Minister of National Defense and Armed Forces - Maurice Bourgès-MaunouryMaurice Bourgès-MaunouryMaurice Jean Marie Bourgès-Maunoury was a French Radical politician who served as Prime Minister in the Fourth Republic during 1957.He is famous, especially, for fulfilling prominent ministerial role in the government during the Suez Crisis....
– Minister of the Interior - Pierre PflimlinPierre PflimlinPierre Eugène Jean Pflimlin was a French Christian democratic politician who served as the penultimate Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic for a few weeks in 1958, before being replaced by Charles de Gaulle during the crisis of that year.-Life:...
– Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs - André Morice – Minister of Commerce and Industry
- Paul BaconPaul BaconPaul Bacon was a French politician.During World War 2, Bacon was active in the French Resistance. He was a member of Georges Bidault's National Liberation Movement, and distributed a manifesto about trade unionism in December 1940. Bacon was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943.After the war, Bacon...
– Minister of Labour and Social Security - Robert SchumanRobert SchumanRobert Schuman was a noted Luxembourgish-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat and an independent political thinker and activist...
– Minister of Justice - Paul Antier – Minister of Merchant Marine
- Jean BerthoinJean BerthoinJean Berthoin was a French Politician....
– Minister of National Education - Raymond TribouletRaymond TribouletRaymond Triboulet was a French politician. He was a leading World War II resistance fighter who helped U.S., Canadian, and British troops invade France, which was then occupied by Nazi Germany.-Biography:...
– Minister of Veterans and War Victims - Jean Sourbet – Minister of Agriculture
- Pierre-Henri TeitgenPierre-Henri TeitgenPierre-Henri Teitgen was a French lawyer, professor and politician.Teitgen was born in Rennes, Brittany. Made prisoner of war in 1940, he played a major role in the French Resistance....
– Minister of Overseas France - Édouard Corniglion-MolinierEdouard Corniglion-MolinierGeneral Edouard Corniglion-Molinier aviator and member of the French Resistance, member of the French government during the French Fourth Republic, in the 1950s, movie producer , friend of Marcel Dassault and cousin of Fred Vidal....
– Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism - Bernard Lafay – Minister of Public Health and Population
- Roger Duchet – Minister of Reconstruction and Housing
- Édouard Bonnefous – Minister of Posts
- Pierre July – Minister of Moroccan and Tunisian Affairs
Changes
- 6 October 1955 – Pierre BillottePierre BillottePierre Armand Gaston Billotte was a French Army officer and politician. He was the son of General Gaston Billotte, who commanded parts of the French Army at the start of World War II...
succeeds Koenig as Minister of National Defense and Armed Forces. Vincent BadieVincent BadieVincent Badie was a French lawyer and politician.Vincent Henri Badie was born in Béziers and practised as a lawyer at Montpellier. He was elected as Radical Party candidate to the Chamber of Deputies in 1936 representing Hérault...
succeeds Triboulet as Minister of Veterans and War Victims. - 20 October 1955 – Pierre July leaves the Cabinet and the office of Minister of Moroccan and Tunisian Affairs is abolished.
- 1 December 1955 – Edgar Faure succeeds Bourgès-Maunoury as interim Minister of the Interior.