François Piétri (8 August 1882 – 17 August 1966) was a minister in several governments in the later years of 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 19 ...

and was French ambassador to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

from 1940 to 1944 under the

Vichy regime 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 ...

. Born in

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the 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 population of any commune on the is ...

, Corsica to Antoine-Jourdan Piétri, a lawyer and ''

préfecture In France, a prefecture (french: préfecture) may be: * the ''chef-lieu de département'', the commune in which the administration of a department is located; * the ''chef-lieu de région'', the commune in which the administration of a region is ...

'' councilman, and Clorinde Gavini, the daughter of a French National Assembly member.records office of the Bastia town hall (Corsica) Piétri graduated from '' Collège Stanislas'' in 1899 and moved on to the ''

École libre des sciences politiques , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

'' for his university education. He was selected for the

French Civil Service The French Civil Service (french: Fonction publique française) is the set of civil servants (''fonctionnaires'') working for the Government of France. Not all employees of the state and public institutions or corporations are civil servants; howev ...

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 the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

- a role he filled from 1917 to 1924. 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 rep ...

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

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

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

(''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 The Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, to which was later added the charge of Telephones (the position was later named "Minister of Posts and Telecommunications"), was, in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of the French Posta ...

briefly in 1940 after the German invasion. He remained involved in French politics during the Nazi occupation of France, becoming the

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

ambassador to Spain from 1940 to 1944. François Piétri died in 1966 in Ajaccio.

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 French Ministers of Budget French Ministers of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones French Ministers of Overseas France French Ministers of Finance French Ministers of Merchant Marine French Ministers of Defence 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 {{France-diplomat-stub