Pierre Mendès-France
Encyclopedia
Pierre Mendès France was a French politician. He descended from a Portuguese Jewish family that moved to France in the sixteenth century.
, graduating with a doctorate in law and becoming the youngest member of the Paris Bar association
in 1928. In 1924 he joined the Radical Socialist Party, the traditional party of the French middle-class centre-left (not to be confused with the mainstream socialist party of the time, the SFIO
).
In 1932, Mendès France was elected to the National Assembly
as a deputy for the Eure
département; he was the Assembly's youngest member. His ability was recognized at once, and, in the 1936 Popular Front
government of Léon Blum
, he was appointed Secretary of State for Finance. When World War II broke out, he joined the French Air Force
. After the French surrender
to Nazi Germany
, he was arrested by the Vichy government
authorities and sentenced to six years' imprisonment on a fallacious charge of desertion
, but on 21 June 1941, he escaped and succeeded in reaching Britain, where he joined the Free French forces
of Charles de Gaulle
.
After serving with the Free French Air Force, Mendès France was sent by de Gaulle as his Finance Commissioner in Algeria
, and then headed the French delegation to the 1944 monetary conference
at Bretton Woods
. When de Gaulle returned to liberated Paris
in September 1944, he appointed Mendès France as Minister for National Economy in the provisional government.
But Mendès France soon fell out with the Finance Minister, René Pleven
, when he favoured state regulation of wages and prices
to control inflation (while Pleven favoured free market
policies). When de Gaulle sided with Pleven, Mendès France resigned. Nonetheless, de Gaulle valued Mendès France's abilities, and appointed him as a director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
, and as French representative in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
, Mendès France was re-elected to the National Assembly. He first tried to form a government in June 1953, but was unable to gain the numbers in the Assembly. From 1950 he had been a consistent opponent of French colonialism
, and, by 1954, France was becoming hopelessly embroiled in major colonial conflicts: the First Indochina War
and the Algerian War of Independence
. When French forces were defeated by the Vietnam
ese Communists at Dien Bien Phu
in June 1954, the government of Joseph Laniel
resigned, and Mendès France formed a government. Among his ministers was the young François Mitterrand
.
Mendès France immediately negotiated an armistice
with Ho Chi Minh
, the Vietnamese Communist leader. There was, he said, no choice but total withdrawal from Indochina
, and the Assembly supported him by 471 votes to 14. Nevertheless, nationalist opinion was shocked, and Roman Catholic opinion opposed abandoning the Vietnamese believers to Communism. A tirade of abuse, much of it anti-Semitic, was directed at Mendès France. (Mendès France is a Sephardic Portuguese name.) Jean-Marie Le Pen
, then a Poujadist member of the Assembly, described his "patriotic, almost physical repulsion" for Mendès France.
Undeterred, Mendès France next came to an agreement with Habib Bourguiba
, the nationalist leader in Tunisia
, for the independence of that colony by 1956, and began discussions with the nationalist leaders in Morocco
for a French withdrawal. He also favoured concessions to the nationalists in Algeria
, but the fact that there were a million Pied-noir
s there meant that there could be no easy way of out that situation. The future mercenary
Bob Denard
was convicted in 1954 and sentenced to fourteen months of jail for an assassination attempt against Mendès France.
Mendès France hoped that the Radical Party would become the party of modernisation and renewal in French politics, by-passing the SFIO. An advocate of greater European integration
, he helped bring about the formation of the Western European Union
, and proposed far-reaching economic reform. He also favoured defence co-operation with other European countries, but the National Assembly rejected the proposal for a European Defence Community
, mainly because of misgivings about Germany's participation.
His cabinet fell in February 1955. In 1956 he served as Minister of State in the cabinet headed by the SFIO leader Guy Mollet
, but resigned over the issue of Algeria, which was coming to dominate French politics. His split over Algeria with Edgar Faure
, leader of the conservative wing of the Radical Party, led to Mendès France resigning as party leader in 1957.
system and the creation of a Fifth Republic
. He led the Union of Democratic Forces, an anti-Gaullist
group, but, in the November 1958 elections he lost his seat in the Assembly. In 1959 he was expelled from the Radical Party, whose majority faction supported de Gaulle.
Mendès France then joined the Unified Socialist Party
(Parti Socialiste Unifié or PSU), a small party of the intellectual left. He made an unsuccessful bid to regain his seat in the National Assembly representing Eure
in the 1962 election.
In 1967, he returned to the Assembly as a PSU member for the Isère
, but again lost his seat in de Gaulle's 1968 landslide election victory. In accordance with the PSU, Mendès France expressed sympathy for the sentiments and actions of the student rioters during the "events" (les évènements) of May 1968, a position unusual for a politician of his age and status. In an unorthodox move, de Gaulle's socialist opponent, Gaston Defferre
, had designated him Prime Minister-elect prior to the election; but to no avail for either. When Mitterrand formed a new Socialist Party in 1971, Mendès France supported him, but did not attempt another political comeback.
Shortly before Mendès France died in 1982, he witnessed the coming to office of Socialist President François Mitterrand
.
President of the Council of Ministers : 1954–1955.
Minister of Foreign Affairs : 1954–1955.
Minister of State : January–May 1956 (Resignation).
Electoral mandates
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Eure
: 1932–1942 (Deposition by Philippe Pétain) / 1946–1958. Elected in 1932, reelected in 1936, 1946, 1951, 1956.
Member of the National Assembly of France for Isère
(2nd constituency) : 1967–1968. Elected in 1968.
General Council
President of the General Council of Eure
: 1951–1958. Reelected in 1955.
General councillor of Eure
: 1937–1958. Reelected in 1945, 1951.
Municipal council
Mayor of Louviers
: 1935–1939 (Resignation) / 1953–1958 (Resignation). Reelected in 1953.
Municipal councillor of Louviers
: 1935–1939 (Resignation) / 1953–1958 (Resignation). Reelected in 1953.
Changes
Third Republic and World War II
Mendès France was educated at the University of ParisUniversity of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, graduating with a doctorate in law and becoming the youngest member of the Paris Bar association
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...
in 1928. In 1924 he joined the Radical Socialist Party, the traditional party of the French middle-class centre-left (not to be confused with the mainstream socialist party of the time, the SFIO
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
).
In 1932, Mendès France was elected to 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 ....
as a deputy for the Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
département; he was the Assembly's youngest member. His ability was recognized at once, and, in the 1936 Popular Front
Popular Front (France)
The Popular Front was an alliance of left-wing movements, including the French Communist Party , the French Section of the Workers' International and the Radical and Socialist Party, during the interwar period...
government of Léon Blum
Léon Blum
André Léon Blum was a French politician, usually identified with the moderate left, and three times the Prime Minister of France.-First political experiences:...
, he was appointed Secretary of State for Finance. When World War II broke out, he joined the French Air Force
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
. After the French surrender
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
to Nazi Germany
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...
, he was arrested by the Vichy government
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
authorities and sentenced to six years' imprisonment on a fallacious charge of desertion
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
, but on 21 June 1941, he escaped and succeeded in reaching Britain, where he joined the Free French forces
Free French Forces
The Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
of 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....
.
After serving with the Free French Air Force, Mendès France was sent by de Gaulle as his Finance Commissioner in Algeria
French rule in Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
, and then headed the French delegation to the 1944 monetary conference
United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference
The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, commonly known as the Bretton Woods conference, was a gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after...
at Bretton Woods
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Bretton Woods is an area within the town of Carroll, New Hampshire, USA, whose principal points of interest are three leisure and recreation facilities...
. When de Gaulle returned to liberated Paris
Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on August 25th. It could be regarded by some as the last battle in the Battle for Normandy, though that really ended with the crushing of the Wehrmacht forces between the...
in September 1944, he appointed Mendès France as Minister for National Economy in the provisional government.
But Mendès France soon fell out with the Finance Minister, René Pleven
René Pleven
René Pléven was a notable French politician of the Fourth Republic. A member of the Free French, he helped found the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance , a political party that was meant to be a successor to the wartime Resistance movement...
, when he favoured state regulation of wages and prices
Wage regulation
-Minimum wage:Minimum wage regulation attempts to set an hourly, or other periodic monetary standard for pay at work. A recent example was the U.K. National Minimum Wage Act 1998...
to control inflation (while Pleven favoured free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
policies). When de Gaulle sided with Pleven, Mendès France resigned. Nonetheless, de Gaulle valued Mendès France's abilities, and appointed him as a director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
, and as French representative in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Fourth Republic
In 1947, when normal French politics resumed under the Fourth RepublicFrench 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...
, Mendès France was re-elected to the National Assembly. He first tried to form a government in June 1953, but was unable to gain the numbers in the Assembly. From 1950 he had been a consistent opponent of French colonialism
French colonial empires
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
, and, by 1954, France was becoming hopelessly embroiled in major colonial conflicts: the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
and the Algerian War of Independence
Algerian War of Independence
The Algerian War was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria's gaining its independence from France...
. When French forces were defeated by the Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese Communists at Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
in June 1954, the government of Joseph Laniel
Joseph Laniel
Joseph 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...
resigned, and Mendès France formed a government. Among his ministers was the young 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...
.
Mendès France immediately negotiated an armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
with Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
, the Vietnamese Communist leader. There was, he said, no choice but total withdrawal from Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, and the Assembly supported him by 471 votes to 14. Nevertheless, nationalist opinion was shocked, and Roman Catholic opinion opposed abandoning the Vietnamese believers to Communism. A tirade of abuse, much of it anti-Semitic, was directed at Mendès France. (Mendès France is a Sephardic Portuguese name.) Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
, then a Poujadist member of the Assembly, described his "patriotic, almost physical repulsion" for Mendès France.
Undeterred, Mendès France next came to an agreement with Habib Bourguiba
Habib Bourguiba
Habib Bourguiba was a Tunisian statesman, the Founder and the first President of the Republic of Tunisia from July 25, 1957 until 7 November 1987...
, the nationalist leader in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, for the independence of that colony by 1956, and began discussions with the nationalist leaders in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
for a French withdrawal. He also favoured concessions to the nationalists in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, but the fact that there were a million Pied-noir
Pied-noir
Pied-Noir , plural Pieds-Noirs, pronounced , is a term referring to French citizens of various origins who lived in French Algeria before independence....
s there meant that there could be no easy way of out that situation. The future mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
Bob Denard
Bob Denard
Colonel Bob Denard , born Gilbert Bourgeaud, was a French soldier and mercenary. He was known for having done various jobs in support of Françafrique for Jacques Foccart, in charge of French president Charles de Gaulle's policy in Africa...
was convicted in 1954 and sentenced to fourteen months of jail for an assassination attempt against Mendès France.
Mendès France hoped that the Radical Party would become the party of modernisation and renewal in French politics, by-passing the SFIO. An advocate of greater European integration
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...
, he helped bring about the formation of the Western European Union
Western European Union
The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
, and proposed far-reaching economic reform. He also favoured defence co-operation with other European countries, but the National Assembly rejected the proposal for a European Defence Community
European Defence Community
The European Defense Community was a plan proposed in 1950 by René Pleven, the French President of the Council , in response to the American call for the rearmament of West Germany...
, mainly because of misgivings about Germany's participation.
His cabinet fell in February 1955. In 1956 he served as Minister of State in the cabinet headed by the SFIO leader Guy Mollet
Guy Mollet
Guy Mollet was a French Socialist politician. He led the French Section of the Workers' International party from 1946 to 1969 and was Prime Minister in 1956–1957.-Early life and World War II:...
, but resigned over the issue of Algeria, which was coming to dominate French politics. His split over Algeria with Edgar Faure
Edgar Faure
Edgar Faure was a French politician, essayist, historian, and memoirist.-Career:Faure was born in Béziers, 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...
, leader of the conservative wing of the Radical Party, led to Mendès France resigning as party leader in 1957.
Fifth Republic
Like most of the French left, Mendès France opposed de Gaulle's seizure of power in May 1958, when the mounting crisis in Algeria brought about a breakdown in the Fourth RepublicFrench 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...
system and the creation of a 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 led the Union of Democratic Forces, an anti-Gaullist
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Resistance leader then president Charles de Gaulle.-Foreign policy:...
group, but, in the November 1958 elections he lost his seat in the Assembly. In 1959 he was expelled from the Radical Party, whose majority faction supported de Gaulle.
Mendès France then joined the Unified Socialist Party
Unified Socialist Party (France)
The Unified Socialist Party was a socialist political party in France, founded on April 3, 1960. It was originally led by Édouard Depreux , and by Michel Rocard .- History :...
(Parti Socialiste Unifié or PSU), a small party of the intellectual left. He made an unsuccessful bid to regain his seat in the National Assembly representing Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
in the 1962 election.
In 1967, he returned to the Assembly as a PSU member for the Isère
Isère
Isère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné...
, but again lost his seat in de Gaulle's 1968 landslide election victory. In accordance with the PSU, Mendès France expressed sympathy for the sentiments and actions of the student rioters during the "events" (les évènements) of May 1968, a position unusual for a politician of his age and status. In an unorthodox move, de Gaulle's socialist opponent, Gaston Defferre
Gaston Defferre
Gaston Defferre was a French socialist politician.-Biography:Lawyer and member of the French Section of the Workers' International political party, he was a member of the Brutus Network, a Resistance Socialist group during World War II...
, had designated him Prime Minister-elect prior to the election; but to no avail for either. When Mitterrand formed a new Socialist Party in 1971, Mendès France supported him, but did not attempt another political comeback.
Shortly before Mendès France died in 1982, he witnessed the coming to office of Socialist President 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...
.
Political career
Governmental functionPresident of the Council of Ministers : 1954–1955.
Minister of Foreign Affairs : 1954–1955.
Minister of State : January–May 1956 (Resignation).
Electoral mandates
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
: 1932–1942 (Deposition by Philippe Pétain) / 1946–1958. Elected in 1932, reelected in 1936, 1946, 1951, 1956.
Member of the National Assembly of France for Isère
Isère
Isère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné...
(2nd constituency) : 1967–1968. Elected in 1968.
General Council
President of the General Council of Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
: 1951–1958. Reelected in 1955.
General councillor of Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
: 1937–1958. Reelected in 1945, 1951.
Municipal council
Mayor of Louviers
Louviers
Louviers is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen.-Population:-Sights:Its church, Notre Dame, has parts which date from the thirteenth century...
: 1935–1939 (Resignation) / 1953–1958 (Resignation). Reelected in 1953.
Municipal councillor of Louviers
Louviers
Louviers is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen.-Population:-Sights:Its church, Notre Dame, has parts which date from the thirteenth century...
: 1935–1939 (Resignation) / 1953–1958 (Resignation). Reelected in 1953.
Mendès France's first Ministry, 19 June 1954 – 20 January 1955
- Pierre Mendès France – President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Marie Pierre KoenigMarie Pierre KoenigMarie Pierre Kœnig was a French army officer and politician. He commanded a Free French Brigade at the Battle of Bir Hakeim in North Africa in 1942....
– Minister of National Defense and Armed Forces - 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 the Interior - Edgar FaureEdgar FaureEdgar Faure was a French politician, essayist, historian, and memoirist.-Career:Faure was born in Béziers, 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...
– Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs, and Planning - 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 Commerce and Industry - Eugène Claudius-Petit – Minister of Labour and Social Security
- Émile HuguesÉmile HuguesÉmile Hugues was a French politician and government minister.With a doctorate in law and by profession a notaire, Hugues was elected in 1946 as a Radical-Socialist député for the Alpes-Maritimes département to the second constituent National Assembly, and subsequently to the Assemblée nationale,...
– Minister of Justice - Jean BerthoinJean BerthoinJean Berthoin was a French Politician....
– Minister of National Education - Emmanuel Temple – Minister of Veterans and War Victims
- Roger Houdet – Minister of Agriculture
- 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 Overseas France - Jacques Chaban-DelmasJacques Chaban-DelmasJacques 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....
– Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism - Louis Aujoulat – Minister of Public Health and Population
- Maurice LemaireMaurice LemaireMaurice Lemaire was a French Gaullist politician, born on 25 May 1895 at Gerbépal in the Vosges region: he died in Paris on 29 January 1979.Lemaire’s background was as a railway engineer. He was the Director General of the SNCF following the liberation of France from German occupation...
– Minister of Reconstruction and Housing - Christian FouchetChristian FouchetChristian Fouchet was a French politician.He was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines.He was the French Minister of National Education from 28 November 1962 to 6 April 1967. He was the colonial head of Algeria from 19 March 1962 to 3 July 1962....
– Minister of Moroccan and Tunisian Affairs - Guy La ChambreGuy La ChambreGuy La Chambre was a French politician.He was born in Paris on 5 June 1898 into a prosperous family with roots in Brittany. His father, Charles La Chambre served in the Chamber of Deputies representing Ille-et-Vilaine from 1902 to 1906, and Guy's grandfather Charles-Emile also served in that...
– Minister of Relations with Partner States
Changes
- 14 August 1954 – Emmanuel Temple succeeds Koenig as 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....
succeeds Chaban-Delmas as interim Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism. Eugène Claudius-Petit succeeds Lemaire as interim Minister of Reconstruction and Housing. - 3 September 1954 – Jean MassonJean MassonJean Masson was a French politician who served as state secretary in various governments during the French Fourth Republic, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in 1952-53....
succeeds Temple as Minister of Veterans and War Victims. Jean-Michel Guérin de Beaumont succeeds Hugues as Minister of Justice. Henri Ulver succeeds Bourgès-Maunoury as Minister of Commerce and Industry. Jacques Chaban-DelmasJacques Chaban-DelmasJacques 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....
succeeds Bourgès-Maunoury as Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism and Claudius-Petit as Minister of Reconstruction and Housing. Louis Aujoulat succeeds Claudius-Petit as Minister of Labour and Social Security. André Monteil succeeds Aujoulat as Minister of Public Health and Population. - 12 November 1954 – Maurice LemaireMaurice LemaireMaurice Lemaire was a French Gaullist politician, born on 25 May 1895 at Gerbépal in the Vosges region: he died in Paris on 29 January 1979.Lemaire’s background was as a railway engineer. He was the Director General of the SNCF following the liberation of France from German occupation...
succeeds Chaban-Delmas as Minister of Reconstruction and Housing.
Mendès France's second Ministry, 20 January 1955 – 23 February 1955
- Pierre Mendès France – President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Edgar FaureEdgar FaureEdgar Faure was a French politician, essayist, historian, and memoirist.-Career:Faure was born in Béziers, 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...
– Minister of Foreign Affairs - Jacques ChevallierJacques ChevallierJacques Chevallier was a liberal pied noir mayor of Algiers who governed the city at the head of a coalition of pied noir and Moslem representatives....
– Minister of National Defense - 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 Armed Forces - 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 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 Finance, Economic Affairs, and Planning - Henri Ulver – Minister of Commerce and Industry
- Louis Aujoulat – Minister of Labour and Social Security
- Emmanuel Temple – Minister of Justice
- Raymond Schmittlein – Minister of Merchant Marine
- Jean BerthoinJean BerthoinJean Berthoin was a French Politician....
– Minister of National Education - Jean MassonJean MassonJean Masson was a French politician who served as state secretary in various governments during the French Fourth Republic, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in 1952-53....
– Minister of Veterans and War Victims - Roger Houdet – Minister of Agriculture
- Jean-Jacques JuglasJean-Jacques JuglasJean-Jacques Juglas was a French politician, born 10 June 1904 in Bergerac , died 17 August 1982 in Paris.- Positions :* Minister for Overseas France in the Pierre Mendès France government...
– Minister of Overseas France - Jacques Chaban-DelmasJacques Chaban-DelmasJacques 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....
– Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism - André Monteil – Minister of Public Health and Population
- Maurice LemaireMaurice LemaireMaurice Lemaire was a French Gaullist politician, born on 25 May 1895 at Gerbépal in the Vosges region: he died in Paris on 29 January 1979.Lemaire’s background was as a railway engineer. He was the Director General of the SNCF following the liberation of France from German occupation...
– Minister of Reconstruction and Housing - Christian FouchetChristian FouchetChristian Fouchet was a French politician.He was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines.He was the French Minister of National Education from 28 November 1962 to 6 April 1967. He was the colonial head of Algeria from 19 March 1962 to 3 July 1962....
– Minister of Moroccan and Tunisian Affairs - Guy La ChambreGuy La ChambreGuy La Chambre was a French politician.He was born in Paris on 5 June 1898 into a prosperous family with roots in Brittany. His father, Charles La Chambre served in the Chamber of Deputies representing Ille-et-Vilaine from 1902 to 1906, and Guy's grandfather Charles-Emile also served in that...
– Minister of Relations with Partner States