Charles Alexandre Dupuy (; 5 November 1851 – 23 July 1923) was a French statesman, three times prime minister.

Biography

He was born in

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its ca ...

, Haute-Loire,

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

, where his father was a minor official. After a period as a professor of philosophy in the provinces, he was appointed a school inspector, thus obtaining a practical acquaintance with the needs of French education. In 1885 he was elected to the chamber as an Opportunist Republican. After acting as "reporter" of the budget for public instruction, he became minister for the department, in

Alexandre Ribot Alexandre-Félix-Joseph Ribot (; 7 February 184213 January 1923) was a French politician, four times Prime Minister. Early career Ribot was born in Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais. After a brilliant academic career at the University of Paris, where h ...

's cabinet, in 1892. In April 1893 he formed a ministry himself, taking as his office that of minister of the interior, but resigned at the end of November, and on 5 December was elected president of the chamber. During his first week of office an anarchist, Vaillant, who had managed to gain admission to the chamber, threw a bomb at the president, and Dupuy's calm response --"''Messieurs, la séance continue''" – gained him much credit. In May 1894 he again became premier and minister of the interior; and he was at President Carnot's side when Carnot was stabbed to death at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

s in June. He then stood for the presidency, but was defeated, and his cabinet remained in office till January 1895; under this government,

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

was arrested and condemned (23 December 1894). The progress of the ''

Dreyfus Affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

'' cast its shadow over Dupuy, along with other French "''ministrables''," but in November 1898, after

Henri Brisson Eugène Henri Brisson (; 31 July 183514 April 1912) was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France for a period in 1885-1886 and again in 1898. Biography He was born at Bourges (Cher), and followed his father's profession of advocate. Havi ...

had at last remitted the case to the judgment of the court of cassation, he formed a cabinet of Republican concentration. During Dupuy's time as prime minister, a number of progressive reforms were carried out. A law implemented in June 1894 introduced a form of social insurance through a mutual fund for miners' welfare and retirement, while a law passed in November 1894 introduced the Credit Agricole mutualist savings bank for farmers. In addition, a law passed that same month set out the role of the state-owned Caisse des depots "in the construction and management of subsidised housing". In view of the apparent likelihood that the judges of the criminal division of the court of cassation—who formed the ordinary tribunal for such an appeal—would decide in favour of Dreyfus, it was thought that Dupuy's new cabinet would be strong enough to reconcile public opinion to such a result; but, to the surprise of outside observers, Dupuy proposed a law in the chamber transferring the decision to a full court of all the divisions of the court of cassation. This arbitrary act, though adopted by the chamber, was construed as a fresh attempt to maintain the judgment of the first

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

. In the interim, President

Félix Faure Félix François Faure (; 30 January 1841 – 16 February 1899) was the President of France from 1895 until his death in 1899. A native of Paris, he worked as a tanner in his younger years. Faure became a member of the Chamber of Deputies for ...

(an anti-Dreyfusard) died, and the accession of

Émile Loubet Émile François Loubet (; 30 December 183820 December 1929) was the 45th Prime Minister of France from February to December 1892 and later President of France from 1899 to 1906. Trained in law, he became mayor of Montélimar, where he was not ...

helped placate the public. The whole court of cassation decided that there must be a new court-martial, and Dupuy at once resigned (June 1899). Although none of Dupuy's presidential bids were successful, he served, due to his position as Prime Minister, as an Acting President of the French Republic for three separate occasions during vacancies. In June 1900 Dupuy was elected senator for the

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche ...

department. He was reelected on 7 January 1906 and 11 January 1920, holding office until his death on 23 July 1923.

Dupuy's first ministry, 4 April 1893 – 3 December 1893

*Charles Dupuy – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior *

Jules Develle Jules Develle (12 April 1845 – 30 October 1919) was a French politician. Biography He was born in Bar-le-Duc to Claude Charles Develle, an insurance agent, and Anne Marguerite Rousselot. He studied law and became a lawyer. He discovered his pa ...

– Minister of Foreign Affairs * Julien Léon Loizillon – Minister of War * Paul Peytral – Minister of Finance * Eugène Guérin – Minister of Justice * Louis Terrier – Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Colonies * Auguste Alfred Lefèvre – Minister of Marine *

Raymond Poincaré Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré (, ; 20 August 1860 – 15 October 1934) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1913 to 1920, and three times as Prime Minister of France. Trained in law, Poincaré was elected deputy in 1 ...

– Minister of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Worship *

Albert Viger Albert Viger (19 October 1843 – 8 July 1926) was a French politician of the Third French Republic. He served three times as minister of agriculture in the governments of Alexandre Ribot, Charles Dupuy, Jean Casimir-Perier, Léon Bourgeois and H ...

– Minister of Agriculture *

Jules Viette Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer * Jules Abadie (1876–19 ...

– Minister of Public Works

Dupuy's second ministry, 30 May 1894 – 26 January 1895

*Charles Dupuy – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior and of Worship * Gabriel Hanotaux – Minister of Foreign Affairs *

Auguste Mercier Auguste Mercier (8 December 1833 – 3 March 1921) was a French general and Minister of War at the time of the Dreyfus Affair. Military career Auguste Mercier was born in Arras. He entered the École Polytechnique at the age of 19 in 1852, a ...

– Minister of War *

– Minister of Finance * Eugène Guérin – Minister of Justice *

– Minister of Marine * Georges Leygues – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts *

– Minister of Agriculture *

Théophile Delcassé Théophile Delcassé (1 March 185222 February 1923) was a French politician who served as foreign minister from 1898 to 1905. He is best known for his hatred of Germany and efforts to secure alliances with Russia and Great Britain that became t ...

– Minister of Colonies *

Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the introduction (in Jul ...

– Minister of Public Works *

Victor Lourties The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * Victor (1951 film), ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * Victor (1993 film), ...

– Minister of Commerce and Industry and of Posts and Telegraphs

Dupuy's third ministry, 1 November 1898 – 22 June 1899

*Charles Dupuy – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior and Worship *

– Minister of Foreign Affairs *

Charles de Freycinet Charles Louis de Saulces de Freycinet (; 14 November 1828 – 14 May 1923) was a French statesman and four times Prime Minister during the Third Republic. He also served an important term as Minister of War (1888–1893). He belonged to the Opp ...

– Minister of War * Paul Peytral – Minister of Finance * Georges Lebret – Minister of Justice *

Édouard Locroy Édouard is both a French given name and a surname, equivalent to Edward in English. Notable people with the name include: * Édouard Balladur (born 1929), French politician * Édouard Boubat (1923–1999), French photographer * Édouard Colonne ...

– Minister of Marine * Georges Leygues – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts *

– Minister of Agriculture *

Florent Guillain Antoine-Florent Guillain (7 February 1844 – 19 April 1915) was a French maritime engineer who designed a major upgrade to the port of Dunkirk, and rose to a senior level in the Minister of Public Works (France), Ministry of Public Works. He was e ...

– Minister of Colonies * Camille Krantz – Minister of Public Works * Paul Delombre – Minister of Commerce and Industry and of Posts and Telegraphs Changes *6 May 1899 – Camille Krantz succeeds Freycinet as Minister of War. Jean Monestier succeeds Krantz as Minister of Public Works.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dupuy, Charles 1851 births 1923 deaths 19th-century heads of state of France People from Le Puy-en-Velay Politicians from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Progressive Republicans (France) Prime Ministers of France French interior ministers Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (France) Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French Senators of the Third Republic Senators of Haute-Loire École Normale Supérieure alumni