Édouard de Lépine (11 January 1932 – 11 August 2020) was a Martinican historian and politician.
Biography
A former student at the Lycée Victor-Schœlcher in
Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a Communes of France, commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the ...
, de Lépine returned to the school as an adult to be a history and geography teacher. He also taught at the University of the Antilles and Guyana.
De Lépine was a member of the
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...
and the
Martinican Communist Party
The Martinican Communist Party (french: Parti communiste martiniquais) is a political party in the France, French ''département d'outre-mer'' of Martinique. Georges Erichot is the general secretary of the party.
The party was founded in September ...
from 1945 to 1971. In 1971, he became excluded from the communist parties for his independent views. He then met
Aimé Césaire
Aim̩ Fernand David C̩saire (; ; 26 June 1913 Р17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician. He was "one of the founders of the N̩gritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He founded the Par ...
,
Édouard Glissant
Édouard Glissant (21 September 1928 – 3 February 2011) was a French writer, poet, philosopher, and literary critic from Martinique. He is widely recognised as one of the most influential figures in Caribbean thought and cultural commentary a ...
, Georges Lafare, Marcel Manvilles, and
Frantz Fanon
Frantz Omar Fanon (, ; ; 20 July 1925 – 6 December 1961), also known as Ibrahim Frantz Fanon, was a French West Indian psychiatrist, and political philosopher from the French colony of Martinique (today a French department). His works have be ...
, with whom he became friends. In 1972, he was a founding member of the Groupe révolution socialiste, a local sector of the
Fourth International
The Fourth International (FI) is a revolutionary socialist international organization consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky, also known as Trotskyists, whose declared goal is the overthrowing of global capitalism and the establishment of wor ...
. He joined the
Martinican Progressive Party
The Martinican Progressive Party (french: Parti progressiste martiniquais, PPM) is a democratic socialist political party in Martinique. It was founded on March 22, 1958 by poet Aimé Césaire after breaking off from the French Communist Party. Th ...
in 1982. He served as Mayor of
Le Robert
Le Robert (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Wobè) is a town and the third-largest commune in the French overseas department of Martinique. It is located in the northeastern (Atlantic) side of the island of Martinique. It contains the Sainte Ros ...
from 1989 to 1995.
In addition to his political career, de Lépine wrote a series of essays on
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
's history and was outspoken against Martinican separatists. He wrote an essay against them, titled ''Sur la Question dite du Statut de la Martinique''. His final essay was about Aimé Césaire, titled ''Nous sommes des nains sur les épaules d’un géant'' and published in 2017.
Édouard de Lépine died in
Le Robert
Le Robert (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Wobè) is a town and the third-largest commune in the French overseas department of Martinique. It is located in the northeastern (Atlantic) side of the island of Martinique. It contains the Sainte Ros ...
on 11 August 2020 at the age of 88.
Bibliography
*''Pour la révolution socialiste antillaise: contribution au débat'' (1973)
*''Questions sur l'histoire antillaise : trois essais sur l'abolition, l'assimilation, l'autonomie'' (1978)
*''La Crise de février 1935 à la Martinique : la marche de la faim sur Fort-de-France'' (1980)
*''Dix semaines qui ébranlèrent la Martinique : 25 mars – 4 juin 1848'' (1999)
*''Hommage à un grand martiniquais, Camille Darsières'' (2009)
*''Sur la Question dite du Statut de la Martinique'' (2009)
*''Nous sommes des nains sur les épaules d'un géant, Aimé Césaire'' (2017)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Lepine, Edouard
1932 births
2020 deaths
Martiniquais politicians
Martinican Communist Party politicians