Edmond Jouhaud
Encyclopedia
Edmond Jouhaud was one of four French generals who briefly staged a putsch in Algeria in April 1961. As Army General
he had been the Inspector General of the Air Force in French North Africa. After the failure of the putsch, he became the deputy of Raoul Salan
in the Organisation de l'Armée Secrète. General Jouhaud was sentenced to death in absentia for his role in the putsch, but when he was captured the following year, he issued a statement calling on the remaining OAS to end its terror campaign, and this sentence was not carried out, to the fury of President Charles de Gaulle
. Eventually de Gaulle was persuaded by George Pompidou to pardon him five months later. He was released in 1967. He was rehabilitated by a law passed in 1982 under the presidency of François Mitterrand
.
A descendant of early Algerian pioneers of Corsican descent, Jouhaud was one of the most decorated officers in the French military prior to participating in the putsch. He was notably pro-American in his political views.
Army General
For the army rank of General, as opposed to the specific rank of Army General, see General officer.Army General is a title used in many countries to denote the rank of General nominally commanding an army in the field...
he had been the Inspector General of the Air Force in French North Africa. After the failure of the putsch, he became the deputy of Raoul Salan
Raoul Salan
Raoul Albin Louis Salan was a French Army general and the fourth French commanding general during the First Indochina War. Salan was one of four generals who organized the 1961 Algiers Putsch operation and then founded the Organisation de l'armée secrète....
in the Organisation de l'Armée Secrète. General Jouhaud was sentenced to death in absentia for his role in the putsch, but when he was captured the following year, he issued a statement calling on the remaining OAS to end its terror campaign, and this sentence was not carried out, to the fury of President 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....
. Eventually de Gaulle was persuaded by George Pompidou to pardon him five months later. He was released in 1967. He was rehabilitated by a law passed in 1982 under the presidency of François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François 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...
.
A descendant of early Algerian pioneers of Corsican descent, Jouhaud was one of the most decorated officers in the French military prior to participating in the putsch. He was notably pro-American in his political views.