Émile Maurice (8 July 1910-13 January 1993) was a French politician and a supporter of

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 assimilation to France. He was

President of the General Council of Martinique The President of the General Council of Martinique was the elected head of the General Council, the assembly that governed the assembly governing the overseas department of France. The President of the General Council held executive powers from Mar ...

from 1970 to 1992.

Biography

Émile Maurice began his political career in 1957 when he was elected general councillor of Saint-Joseph. He was a co-founder of the Martinician Progressive Party with

Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He founded the Par ...

in 1958. He was elected mayor of Saint-Joseph in 1959, which he remained until his death in 1993. Saint joseph église

In 1958, Maurice, who was a

Gaullist Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withd ...

, finding he disagreed with Aimé Césaire, left the PPM and joined the

Union for the New Republic The Union for the New Republic (french: L'Union pour la nouvelle République, UNR), was a French political party founded on 1 October 1958 that supported Prime Minister Charles de Gaulle in the 1958 elections. History The UNR won 206 of 579 s ...

federation of Martinique. From then on, Émile Maurice opposed

autonomism Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendenc ...

and, with Camille Petit and Victor Sablé, was one of the fiercest defenders of departmental status for Martinique. He was president of the

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic (french: Rassemblement pour la République ; RPR ), was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 a ...

federation of Martinique for several years, and known as a pillar of the party.

Memorials

A chamber in the High Council of Martinique's assembly building, the in Fort-de-France, is named after him. A bust was dedicated to him in Saint-Joseph, and a street in Fort-de-France.

References

Rally for the Republic politicians Martiniquais politicians 20th-century French politicians People from Le François 1910 births 1993 deaths Presidents of French regions and overseas collectivities Mayors of places in Martinique Presidents of the General Council of Martinique {{Improve categories, date=July 2022