René Louis De Rouen was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

.

Born on a farm near Ville Platte

Ville Platte, Louisiana

Ville Platte is a city in and the parish seat of Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,145 at the 2000 census. Its name is derived from the French ville plate, or "flat town."-History:...

, then in St. Landry Parish (since the seat of government of Evangeline Parish), De Rouen attended private and public schools, and St. Charles College in Grand Coteau

Grand Coteau, Louisiana

Grand Coteau is a town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,040 at the 2000 census. Grand Coteau is on Interstate 49 south of Opelousas and is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area. The town is a center for local farming...

, Louisiana. He graduated in 1892 from Holy Cross College in New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

. De Rouen engaged in mercantile pursuits, banking, and farming. He served as delegate to the Louisiana constitutional convention in 1921.

De Rouen was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Seventieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Ladislas Lazaro. He was reelected to the Seventy-first and to the five succeeding Congresses and served from August 23, 1927, to January 3, 1941. He did not seek renomination in 1940. Fellow Democrat Vance Plauche

Vance Plauche

Vance Gabriel Plauche was a Lake Charles attorney and civic leader who represented the Seventh Congressional District of Louisiana in the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat for a single term from 1941 to 1943....

, a campaign manager for Governor Sam Houston Jones of Lake Charles

Lake Charles, Louisiana

Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...

 ran without opposition for the seat. Plauche did not seek reelection in 1942.

De Rouen served as chairman of the Committee on Public Lands (Seventy-third through Seventy-sixth Congresses). He served in the state banking department in Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...

, after his retirement from Congress until his death.
He died in Baton Rouge and is interred at Catholic Cemetery in Ville Platte.