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René Pleven

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René Pleven
Prime Minister of France
In office
11 August 1951 – 20 January 1952
PresidentVincent Auriol
Preceded byHenri Queuille
Succeeded byEdgar Faure
In office
12 July 1950 – 10 March 1951
PresidentVincent Auriol
Preceded byHenri Queuille
Succeeded byHenri Queuille
Personal details
Born(1901-04-15)15 April 1901
Rennes
Died13 January 1993(1993-01-13) (aged 91)
Paris
Political partyUDSR

René Jean Pleven (French: [ʁəne pləvɛ̃]; 15 April 1901 – 13 January 1993) was a notable political figure of the French Resistance and Fourth Republic. An early associate of Jean Monnet then member of the Free French led by Charles de Gaulle, he took a leading role in colonial and financial matters including the Gaullist takeover of French Equatorial Africa in 1940, the creation of the Caisse Centrale de la France Libre in 1941, the Brazzaville Conference in 1944, and the nationalization of the largest French banks in 1945.

In 1946, Pleven broke with De Gaulle and helped found the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR), a political party that was meant to be a successor to the wartime Resistance movement. He served as prime minister twice in the early 1950s and is remembered for the Pleven Plan for a European Defence Community, which he proposed in October 1950 in coordination with Monnet.

Early life

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René Pleven was born in Rennes on 15 April 1901 as the son of a commissioned officer and director of studies at the Special Military School of St. Cyr.[1] After studying law at the University of Paris, he failed the exam for the financial corps of the civil service, so he decided to move to the United States, Canada, and Great Britain to work there. He rose to become a telephone company executive. In 1924, he married Anne Bompard.[2]

Wartime

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Immediately after the breakout of the Second World War, he was in charge of encouraging the construction of aircraft for the Allies in the United States and of purchasing planes for France.[1] As late as 1939, Pleven stated that "Politics do not interest me,"[3] but then a year later, he joined Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces, which resisted the Nazi-allied French Vichy Regime. Pleven suggested a political union between Britain and France, with a unification of sovereignty and defensive forces. The plan, supported by Winston Churchill, Paul Reynaud and Charles de Gaulle was not approved due to the opposition of the French armistice with Germany.[4] Pleven helped rally support for Free France in French Equatorial Africa. Returning to London, where de Gaulle and his forces were exiled, in 1941, he became national commissioner for the economy, finance, the colonies and foreign affairs of the French National Committee. In this role, he presided over a 1944 conference in Brazzaville, which opted for a more liberal policy towards the colonies.[2]

Postwar years

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After France's liberation, he was the Minister of the Economy and Finance in the provisional government. After the war, Pleven was elected a legislator from the Côtes-du-Nord department. In 1946, he broke with Charles de Gaulle and founded the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR) serving as the party's president from 1946 to 1953. The party was positioned between the Radical Socialists and the Socialists, favoring limited industrial nationalization and state controls. He then held several Cabinet posts, most notably Defense Minister from 1949 to 1950. In July 1950 he became the country's Prime Minister, as power was shifting to the right. A passionate supporter of European integration, he pushed the ratification of the Schuman Plan for European integration creating the European Coal and Steel Community as Prime Minister. He had to face opposition from both left and right to push it through, but he collected enough votes in parliament by promising to increase farm loans and to lower taxes for low-income groups. After three days and two nights of debate, the treaty was ratified. He served until February 1951 and then again from August 1951 to January 1952, resigning over disagreements about budget deficits.[1][2][3][5]

He then became Defense Minister again. His proposal for a European Defense Community, in which to integrate a re-armed Germany, known as the Pleven Plan, was defeated by the Gaullists, communists, and socialists. He also advocated a hard hand in defending French colonial rule in Indochina. In 1953, he resigned as chairman of the UDSR after his party supported the Vietnam peace talks. Being Minister of Defense from 1952 to 1954, he was responsible when the French lost the Battle of Dien Bien Phu initiating the crumbling of French hegemony in the whole region.[2] In 1957, President René Coty offered him the opportunity to become Prime Minister again, but he turned it down.[6] Instead, he became the Fourth Republic's last Foreign Minister in 1958.[1]

In 1966, Pleven's wife died. He had had two daughters, Françoise and Nicole, with her. From 1969 to 1973, he served as Minister of Justice in the governments of Jacques Chaban-Delmas and Pierre Messmer, signing the pardon of notorious escapee Henri Charrière in 1970. Losing re-election as legislator in 1973, he became president of a regional development council in his native Brittany. He died of heart failure on 13 January 1993 at the age of 91.[2]

Governments

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First ministry (12 July 1950 – 10 March 1951)

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Second Ministry (11 August 1951 – 20 January 1952)

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Changes:

  • 16 September 1951 – Minister of State Maurice Petsche dies.
  • 4 October 1951 – Joseph Laniel becomes a Minister of State. Roger Duchet succeeds Laniel as Minister of Posts.
  • 21 November 1951 – Camille Laurens succeeds Antier as Minister of Agriculture.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d (in German)René Pleven. DHM.
  2. ^ a b c d e Lambert, Bruce: "Rene Pleven, 91, Prime Minister of France Twice in Early 1950s". The New York Times. 20 January 1993.
  3. ^ a b Pour la France. Time.
  4. ^ Gilbert, Martin (1991). Churchill. Random House. Chapter 25.
  5. ^ France & the Schuman Plan. Time. 24 December 1951.
  6. ^ The Little Plum. Time. 10 June 1957.
Political offices
Preceded by
—
 Free French Commissioner on Economy and Finances
1941–1942 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
—
 Free French Commissioner on the Colonies
1941–1942 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
—
 Vice President of the National Committee of the Free French
1942–1943 		Succeeded by
—
Preceded by Free French Commissioner for Foreign Affairs
1942–1943 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Free French Commissioner on the Colonies
1942–1944 		Succeeded by
—
Preceded by Minister of Colonies
1944 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Finance
1944–1946 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of National Economy
1945 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of National Defense
1949–1950 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of France
1950–1951 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
—
 Vice President of the Council
1951
With: Guy Mollet and Georges Bidault 		Succeeded by
—
Preceded by Prime Minister of France
1951–1952 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of National Defense
1952–1954 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
1958 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Justice
1969–1973 		Succeeded by
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