André Pierre Gabriel Amédée Tardieu (; 22 September 1876 – 15 September 1945) was three times Prime Minister of France (3 November 1929 – 17 February 1930; 2 March – 4 December 1930; 20 February – 10 May 1932) and a dominant figure of French political life in 1929–1932. He was a moderate conservative with a strong intellectual reputation, but became a weak prime minister at the start of the worldwide Great Depression.

Biography

Tardieu's paternal grandmother was the composer and pianist

Charlotte Tardieu Marie Charlotte Elisabeth d'Arpentigny de Malleville Tardieu (9 September 1829 – May 1890) was a French composer, concert pianist, and teacher who organized chamber recitals throughout Europe. She composed and performed under the names Charlotte ...

. Andre Tardieu was a graduate of the elite ''

Lycée Condorcet The Lycée Condorcet () is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. It is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inception, var ...

''. He was accepted by the even more prestigious ''

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

'', but instead entered the diplomatic service. Later, he left the service and became famous as foreign affairs editor of the newspaper ''Le Temps''. He founded the conservative newspaper ''L'Echo National'' in association with

Georges Mandel Georges Mandel (5 June 1885 – 7 July 1944) was a French journalist, politician, and French Resistance leader. Early life Born Louis George Rothschild in Chatou, Yvelines, he was the son of a tailor and his wife. His family was Jewish, originally ...

. In 1914, Tardieu was elected to the Chamber of Deputies from the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.Democratic Republican Alliance The Democratic Alliance (french: Alliance démocratique, AD), originally called Democratic Republican Alliance (, ARD), was a French political party created in 1901 by followers of Léon Gambetta such as Raymond Poincaré, who would be presiden ...

(''Alliance Démocratique'' – AD). He retained this seat till 1924. From 1926 to 1936, he represented the ''département'' of ''

Territoire de Belfort The Territoire de Belfort () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, eastern France. It had a population of 141,318 in 2019.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 ...

broke out, Tardieu enlisted in the army and served before he was wounded and invalided home in 1916. He then returned to politics. He served as

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (, also , ; 28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A key figure of the Independent Radicals, he was a ...

's lieutenant in 1919 during the Paris Peace Conference and as Commissioner for Franco-American War Cooperation. On 8 November 1919, he became Minister of Liberated Regions, administering

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

and

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

, and served until Clemenceau's defeat in 1920. In 1926, Tardieu returned to government as Minister of Transportation under Raymond Poincaré. In 1928, he moved to Minister of the Interior, continuing under Poincaré's successor

Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...

. In November 1929, Tardieu himself succeeded Briand as '' Président du Conseil'' (Prime Minister) and remained Interior Minister. Though generally considered a conservative, he introduced a program of welfare measures, including public works, social insurance, and free secondary schooling, and he encouraged modern techniques in industry. On 11 March 1932, legislation was passed that established universal family allowances for all wage earners in business and industry with at least two children. He hoped to replace the old ideological standoff between the right and left to a more relevant division based on the modern economy. He argued that "a more dynamic capitalism would dry up the Marxism of the working classes." The goal of his leadership was prosperity. When the Great Depression began in 1929, his goal was to evade a depression in France, which worked for several years. According to Monique Clague, "An obstinate deflationist throughout the thirties Tardieu would clearly not have given France a new deal." In the election of 1932 "he acknowledged the responsibility of the modern state for curing unemployment, but, devoted to the Poincaré franc, he would have sacrificed employment to the maintenance of the gold standard."Clague, pp 105–28. Tardieu was displaced from both offices for ten days in February–March 1930 by Radical Camille Chautemps, but he returned until December. He was then

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

in 1931,

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

in 1932, and again Prime Minister (this time, also

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

), from 20 February to 3 June 1932, until his coalition was defeated in the May elections. As Prime Minister, Tardieu served for three (7–10 May 1932) days as the Acting President of the French Republic, between the assassination of Paul Doumer and the election of

Albert Lebrun Albert François Lebrun (; 29 August 1871 – 6 March 1950) was a French politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940. He was the last president of the Third Republic. He was a member of the centre-right Democratic Republican Alliance (A ...

. He was briefly a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

without portfolio in 1934. His later political activity was largely concerned with containing and responding to German expansion. In his two-volume book ''La Révolution à refaire'', Tardieu criticized the French parliamentary system.

Bibliography

Some of his books include: * ''La France et les alliances'' (1908) * ''La Paix'' (1921; published in English as ''The Truth About the Treaty'') * ''Devant l'obstacle'' (1927); published in English as ''France and America'') * ''La Révolution à refaire'', 2 volumes (1936–37)

Tardieu's First Ministry, 3 November 1929 – 21 February 1930

*André Tardieu – President of the Council and Minister of Interior *

– Minister of Foreign Affairs *

André Maginot André Maginot (; 17 February 1877 – 7 January 1932) was a French civil servant, soldier, and Member of Parliament. He is best known for his advocacy of the string of forts known as the Maginot Line. Early years, to World War I Maginot was ...

– Minister of War * Henri Chéron – Minister of Finance * Louis Loucheur – Minister of Labour, Hygiene, Welfare Work, and Social Security Provisions *

Lucien Hubert Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to: People Given name * Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint *Lucien, a band member ...

– Minister of Justice * Georges Leygues – Minister of Marine * Louis Rollin – Minister of Merchant Marine * Laurent Eynac – Minister of Air * Pierre Marraud – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts * Claudius Gallet – Minister of Pensions * Jean Hennessy – Minister of Agriculture * François Piétri – Minister of Colonies * Georges Pernot – Minister of Public Works * Louis Germain-Martin – Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones * Pierre Étienne Flandin – Minister of Commerce and Industry

Tardieu's Second Government, 2 March – 13 December 1930

*André Tardieu – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior *

– Minister of Foreign Affairs *

– Minister of War *

Paul Reynaud Paul Reynaud (; 15 October 1878 – 21 September 1966) was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. Reynaud opposed the Munich Agreement of ...

– Minister of Finance * Louis Germain-Martin – Minister of Budget *

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occ ...

– Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions * Raoul Péret – Minister of Justice *

Jacques-Louis Dumesnil Jacques-Louis Dumesnil (15 March 1882, in Paris – 15 June 1956, in Paris) was a French politician. He served as Minister of Air (France), Minister of Air from 1931 to 1932. Life From an old Seine-et-Marne family, he initially worked as a jou ...

– Minister of Marine * Louis Rollin – Minister of Merchant Marine * Laurent Eynac – Minister of Air * Pierre Marraud – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts * Auguste Champetier de Ribes – Minister of Pensions * Fernand David – Minister of Agriculture * François Piétri – Minister of Colonies * Georges Pernot – Minister of Public Works * Désiré Ferry – Minister of Public Health * André Mallarmé – Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones * Pierre Étienne Flandin – Minister of Commerce and Industry Changes *17 November 1930 – Henri Chéron succeeded Péret as Minister of Justice.

Tardieu's Third Ministry, 20 February – 3 June 1932

*André Tardieu – President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs *

– Vice President of the Council and Minister of Justice * François Piétri – Minister of National Defense * Albert Mahieu – Minister of the Interior * Pierre Étienne Flandin – Minister of Finance *

– Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions *

Charles Guernier Charles Guernier (26 April 1870 – 19 February 1943) was a French politician. He was deputy for Ille-et-Vilaine from 1906 to 1924 and from 1928 to 1942. He was Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones from 1931 to 1932, and Minister of Publi ...

– Minister of Public Works and Merchant Marine * Mario Roustan – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts * Auguste Champetier de Ribes – Minister of Pensions and Liberated Regions * Claude Chauveau – Minister of Agriculture * Louis de Chappedelaine – Minister of Colonies *

Camille Blaisot Camille Blaisot (19 January 1881 – 24 January 1945) was a French politician and lawyer. Blaisot was born in Valognes and was elected in 1914 to represent Caen in the Chamber of Deputies of France, Chamber of Deputies. He served as Minister of ...

– Minister of Public Health * Louis Rollin – Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones

Primary sources

* Tardieu, André. ''France and the Alliances: The Struggle for the Balance of Power'' (Macmillan, 1908
online

written 1921, to defend the French negotiators from claims that they had been too lenient on the Germans.

References

External links

(contains details about the family allowance reform introduced under Tardieu) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tardieu, Andre 1876 births 1945 deaths 20th-century heads of state of France Politicians from Paris Democratic Republican Alliance politicians Republican Centre politicians Prime Ministers of France Transport ministers of France French interior ministers French Ministers of Agriculture French Ministers of War Government ministers of France Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 15th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Lycée Condorcet alumni École Normale Supérieure alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion