Antoine Pinay (; 30 December 1891 – 13 December 1994) was a French conservative politician who served as

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister ...

from 1952 to 1953.

Life

Antoine Pinay was born on 30 December 1891 in

Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise () is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. See also *Communes of the Rhône department The following is a list of the 208 communes of the Rhône department of France. This list does not includes th ...

. He was a child of Claude Pinay (5 July 1852 – 4 March 1919), and his wife, Marie Antoinette Besson (10 October 1861 – 23 November 1936). On 25 April 1917, Pinay married Marguerite Fouletier (3 June 1895 – 3 December 1970) and had two daughters and one son, Geneviève (1918–2017), Odette (1920–2015), and Pierre (1922–1964). As a young man, Pinay fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and injured his arm so that it was paralyzed for the rest of his life. After the war, he managed a small business and in 1929 he was elected mayor of

Saint-Chamond, Loire Saint-Chamond () is a commune in the Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France. Situated 13 km northeast of the city of Saint-Étienne and 50 km southwest of Lyon, the town dates back to the Roman period. ...

. He was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

in 1936, running as an independent candidate opposed to the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

. In 1938 he was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, where he joined the

Independent Radicals The Independent Radicals (french: Radicaux indépendants) were a centrist or conservative-liberal political current during the French Third Republic. It was slightly to the right of the more famous Radical-Socialist Party, and shared much of it ...

. On 10 July 1940 he voted to give the Cabinet presided over by Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...

authority to draw up a new constitution, effectively ending the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

and establishing

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

. In 1941, Antoine Pinay was appointed to the ''Conseil National'' of the Vichy regime. He was also awarded the

Order of the Francisque The Order of the Gallic Francisque () is an order and medal which was awarded by the Vichy Regime, the Nazi-aligned government of France during World War II. The order was created by the ''arrêtés'' of 26 May 1941, the law of 16 May 1941 and ...

. During the

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

, Antoine Pinay remained mayor of Saint-Chamond, although he had been urged by General Georges to move to

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, in order to better protect the residents of this city. Pinay resigned from the ''Conseil National'' within a few months and refused any official position with the Vichy regime, such as the ''préfecture de l'Hérault'' offered by Laval. He also gave several hundreds of identity papers to help Jews and members of the Resistance flee from France to Algiers or Switzerland. An official commission in 1946 recognized his long lasting opposition to the Nazis and the help he gave to the Resistance and released him without charge. In 1944, he was first placed on house arrest, and stripped of his right to be candidate to an election on 5 September 1945. After the intervention of

René Cassin René Samuel Cassin (5 October 1887 – 20 February 1976) was a French jurist known for co-authoring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Born in Bayonne, Cassin served as a soldier in the First Wo ...

, the vice-president of the ''Conseil d'État'', who pointed to his fierce opposition to the German occupation, his citizen rights were restored on 5 October 1945. On 2 June 1946, he could successfully run for election to the ''Assemblée Constituante'' as a moderate candidate. He helped create a conservative party, the

National Center of Independents and Peasants The National Centre of Independents and Peasants (''Centre National des Indépendants et Paysans'', CNIP) is a right-wing agrarian political party in France, founded in 1951 by the merger of the National Centre of Independents (the heir of the ...

(CNIP). He acquired the reputation as one of France's more spirited politicians and in 1952 became prime minister by virtue of being the most popular elected CNIP official. His ministry was seen as the return of the "classical right", discredited since the

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

. He stabilized the finances of the French nation and the French currency. Antoine Pinay and Konrad Adenauer 1955

In 1955, he was one of the participants of the

Messina Conference The Messina Conference of 1955 was a meeting of the six member states of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The conference assessed the progress of the ECSC and, deciding that it was working well, proposed further European integratio ...

, which would lead to the

Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was sig ...

in 1957. During the May 1958 crisis precipitated by the

Algerian war The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, he supported

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

's return to power and approved of the Fifth Republic's constitution. He served as finance minister until 1960. In 1973, he was made ''médiateur de la République'' (

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

) by President

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

. Having died at age of , he is the third longest lived national head of government or head of state in history, behind only

Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum Chau Sen Cocsal ( km, ចៅ សែនកុសលឈុំ, ; 1 September 1905 – 22 January 2009), also known as Chhum (Khmer: ឈុំ, ), was a Cambodian civil servant and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia in 1962 and Pres ...

and

Celâl Bayar Mahmud Celâleddin "Celâl" Bayar (16 May 1883 – 22 August 1986) was a Turkish economist and politician who was the third President of Turkey from 1950 to 1960; previously he was Prime Minister of Turkey from 1937 to 1939. Bayar began his c ...

. He died 17 days before his 103rd birthday, and was buried in

.PINAY Antoine (1891–1994) – Cimetières de France et d'ailleurs
. Landrucimetieres.fr. Retrieved on 13 February 2018. From 14 December 1990, when former

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Zhang Qun Zhang Qun or Chang Ch'ün (; May 9, 1889 – December 14, 1990) also known as Zhang Yuejun (張岳軍), was premier of the Republic of China and a prominent member of the Kuomintang. He served as secretary general to the President of the Republ ...

died until his own death, Pinay was the world's oldest living former head of government.

Pinay's ministry, 8 March 1952 – 8 January 1953

* Antoine Pinay – President of the Council and Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs *

Henri Queuille Henri Queuille (; 31 March 1884 – 15 June 1970) was a French Radical politician prominent in the Third and Fourth Republics. After World War II, he served three times as Prime Minister. Governments First ministry (11 September 1948 – 28 O ...

– Vice President of the Council *

Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 18864 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a ref ...

– Minister of Foreign Affairs *

René Pleven René Pleven (; 15 April 1901 – 13 January 1993) 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 (UDSR), a political party that was meant ...

– Minister of National Defense * Charles Brune – Minister of the Interior *

Jean-Marie Louvel Jean-Marie Louvel (1 July 1900 – 13 June 1970) was a French engineer and politician. 1900 births 1970 deaths People from Orne Politicians from Normandy Popular Republican Movement politicians French Ministers of Commerce and I ...

– Minister of Commerce and Energy *

Pierre Garet Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

– Minister of Labour and Social Security * Léon Martinaud-Deplat – Minister of Justice *

Pierre-Olivier Lapie Pierre-Olivier Lapie (2 April 1901 – 10 March 1994) was a French lawyer, politician, writer, and freedom fighter. In 1936, Lapie was elected deputy under the Popular Front but was mobilized into service at the outbreak of World War II i ...

– Minister of National Education *

Emmanuel Temple Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the H ...

– Minister of Veterans and War Victims *

Camille Laurens Laurence Ruel (born 6 November 1957), known by her pen name Camille Laurens, is a French writer and winner of the 2000 Prix Femina for ''Dans ces bras-là''. Laurens is a member of the Académie Goncourt. Career A graduate of humanities, Camil ...

– Minister of Agriculture *

Pierre Pflimlin Pierre Eugène Jean Pflimlin (; 5 February 1907 – 27 June 2000) was a French Christian Democrat politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic for a few weeks in 1958, before being replaced by Charles de Gaulle during the ...

– Minister of Overseas France *

André Morice André Morice (11 October 1900, Nantes – 17 January 1990) was a French politician. He represented the Radical Party in the Constituent Assembly elected in 1945, in the Constituent Assembly elected in 1946 and in the National Assembly from 1946 ...

– Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism *

Paul Ribeyre Paul François Ribeyre (11 December 1906 – 14 January 1988) was a French mineral water bottler and liberal conservative politician who was a deputy in the Constituent Assembly and then the National Assembly from 1945 to 1958, then a senator from ...

– Minister of Public Health and Population *

Eugène Claudius-Petit Eugène Claudius-Petit was a French politician. He participated in many governments under the Fourth Republic and was a proponent of Firminy Vert. He later added his pseudonym from the Resistance, "Claudius", to his name. Early life and care ...

– Minister of Reconstruction and Town Planning *

Roger Duchet Roger Duchet (4 July 1904 – 6 September 1981) was a French veterinarian and politician. He was Minister of PTT from 1951 to 1953, and Minister of Reconstruction from 1955 to 1956. After leaving politics he became involved in film production. Ea ...

– Minister of Posts *

Jean Letourneau Jean Letourneau (18 September 1907 – 16 March 1986) was a French lawyer and politician. He was a lifelong Christian Democrat. During World War II (1939–45) he was active in the French Resistance. After the war he was a deputy in the national ...

– Minister of Relations with Partner States Changes * 11 August 1952 –

André Marie André Marie (3 December 1897 – 12 June 1974) was a French Radical politician who served as Prime Minister during the Fourth Republic in 1948. Biography Born at Honfleur, Calvados, the young André Marie studied at primary and second ...

succeeds Lapie as Minister of National Education.

Life

Pinay's ministry, 8 March 1952 – 8 January 1953

References

Further reading