François Piétri (; 8 August 1882 – 17 August 1966) was a French politician and writer who served as a minister in several governments in the later years of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, 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, after the Fall of France durin ...

and was French ambassador to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

from 1940 to 1944 under the

Vichy regime Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

Biography

Born in

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

to Antoine-Jourdan Piétri, a lawyer and '' préfecture'' councilman, and Clorinde Gavini, the daughter of a

French National Assembly The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...

member. In addition, two of his uncles were Senators in the Second Empire. Piétri graduated from '' Collège Stanislas'' in 1899 and moved on to the ''

École libre des sciences politiques Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

'' for his university education. He was selected for the French Civil Service in 1906 as an auditor (''Inspecteur des finances'') and progressed through the ranks to the post of ''Directeur général des finances du Maroc'' - Director of Finances for

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

- a role he filled from 1917 to 1924. Piétri was a member of the Radical Party.

Political career

In 1924, Piétri was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

and remained in office there until 1942. During that time, he occupied a number of responsibilities, including: *

Undersecretary of State Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

for Finance (''Sous-secrétaire d'État aux finances'') in 1926 * Minister for Colonial Affairs (''Ministre des colonies'') in 1929–1930 and again in 1933 * Minister of the Budget (''Ministre du budget'') in 1931–1932 *

Defense Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

(''Ministre de la défense nationale'') in 1932 *

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

(''Ministre des finances'') for just one week in early 1934 * Minister of Merchant Marine 1–7 June 1935 * Naval Minister (''Ministre de la marine'') in 1934–1936 * Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones briefly in 1940 after the German invasion. He remained involved in French politics during the Nazi occupation of France, becoming the

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

ambassador to Spain from 1940 to 1944. He received the

Order of the Francisque Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

. After the war, he was condemned ''in absentia'' to five years' '' indignité nationale'' by the High Court. Avoiding politics after returning to France, he received the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

's Grand prix Gobert in 1956 for his historical works. Piétri died in 1966 in

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

References

External links

François Piétri
at the French Ministry of Finance website (in French) * Piétri, François ''- Mes années d'Espagne - 1940-1948 -'' Librairie Plon, January 1954
A funeral oration
by the vice-president of the International Olympic Committee ''(Comité International Olympique - CIO)'' 1882 births 1966 deaths People from Bastia Corsican politicians Democratic Republican Alliance politicians Ministers of marine Budget ministers of France Ministers of posts, telegraphs, and telephones of France Ministers of the overseas of France Finance ministers of France Ministers of merchant marine of France Ministers of defence of France 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 Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic People of Vichy France Collège Stanislas de Paris alumni Ambassadors of France to Spain 20th-century French diplomats French fencers 20th-century French historians French International Olympic Committee members 20th-century French non-fiction writers {{France-diplomat-stub People convicted of indignité nationale