Count Gilbert de Chambrun (1909–2009) was a French politician. He was a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

and he served in 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 ...

Early life

Gilbert de Chambrun was born on 2 November 1909 in Paris, France. His father,

Pierre de Chambrun Pierre de Chambrun (11 June 1865 in Paris – 24 August 1954) was a French politician. Early life Charles Louis Antoine Pierre Gilbert Pineton de Chambrun was born in Paris. The Pineton de Chambrun family was of noble origin and politically ...

, was a politician. He was a descendant of

Agrippa d'Aubigné Théodore-Agrippa d'Aubigné (, 8 February 155229 April 1630) was a French poet, soldier, propagandist and chronicler. His epic poem ''Les Tragiques'' (1616) is widely regarded as his masterpiece. In a book about his Catholic contemporary Jean de ...

and Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, and he was raised as a Calvinist. De Chambrun was educated at the Lycée Janson de Sailly. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Laws from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, and he received another degree from Sciences Po.

Career

Chambrun joined the French Foreign Service in 1934, serving at the French embassy in Rome until 1938. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he served in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

from 1939 to 1941. He joined Combat, a group within the

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

in 1942, and he served as a leader until 1944. At the end of the war, he returned to the French Army, where he served under General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. De Chambrun served as a member of the

from 1945 to 1955, representing

Lozère Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, ...

. He was opposed to the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

as well as the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Defence Community, and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. He was the vice president of the Mouvement pour la paix, a non-profit organization which promoted

nuclear disarmament Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space * Nuclea ...

. De Chambrun resumed his position in the Foreign Service in 1956. Meanwhile, he also served as the mayor of

Marvejols Marvejols (; oc, Maruèjols), is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Marvejolais''. Geography The commune is located in the Massif central. The Colagne flows southward through the middle of t ...

from 1953 to 1965, and again from 1971 to 1983. He was a Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and the National Order of Merit. He was a recipient of the Croix de guerre and the Resistance Medal for his World War II service. De Chambrun published his memoir as well as a novel and several plays.

Personal life and death

De Chambrun married Jacqueline Retourné, a paediatrician whom he met in the

Maquis du Mont Mouchet The Maquis du Mont Mouchet were a group of French resistance fighters during the Second World War that were based at Mont Mouchet. The Germans, having discovered the maquis, made several attacks up until May 1944 with about 3,000 men and using a ...

. They had four children. He died on 22 December 2009 in Marvejols, Lozère, France. He was 100 years old.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambrun, Gilbert de 1909 births 2009 deaths Politicians from Paris French Calvinist and Reformed Christians Union progressiste politicians Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1946) Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Mayors of places in Occitania (administrative region) French anti–nuclear weapons activists French novelists 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights University of Paris alumni Sciences Po alumni French military personnel of World War II French Resistance members Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) French centenarians Men centenarians 20th-century French memoirists