Louis Henry Simon (20 May 1874 – 2 December 1926) was a French industrialist, a radical socialist, who was a deputy from 1910 to 1926, and Minister of the Colonies from 1917 to 1920.

Early years

Louis Henry Simon was born on 20 May 1874 in

Labruguière Labruguière (; Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ''La Bruguièira'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in southern France. The Thoré is a river that is part of the commune's east ...

, Tarn. He was an industrialist and radical socialist. He was elected deputy for the 1st district of

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administ ...

, Tarn on 8 May 1910 in the second round. He joined the committees on economies and on Foreign Affairs, Protectorates & Colonies. He was narrowly reelected in the 1914 elections, and joined the committees on Foreign Affairs, Protectorates & Colonies, on Budget and on Education & Fine Arts. At the start of

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 ...

(1914–18) Simon was called up for military service as a sergeant in the 127th Territorial Infantry Regiment. On 9 February 1915 he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the 39th Infantry Regiment.

Minister of Colonies

Simon was appointed Minister of the Colonies in the second cabinet of

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 ...

, and held office from 16 November 1917 to 18 January 1920. His two main thrusts were to develop the colonial economies and to maintain banks in the colonies with the right of issue. At the start of March 1919 Simon met

Lord Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From De ...

of Britain to discuss dividing up the German colonies. He made a request for all of

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

, but settled on just getting

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

and the railways. He was less willing to cede territory from

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, although he was willing to let the British have all of German Borno. On the question of land redistribution in the Middle East Simon delegated responsibility to members of a commission. At the

Versailles Peace Conference The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

Simon opposed the new colonies that France had acquired from Germany being administered as mandates.

Later career

In the elections of 1919 Simon was elected for the ''Parti républicain radical et radical socialiste'' at the head of the list for the ''Union démocratique républicaine''. He joined to committees on Foreign Affairs and on Customs. During this period he became president of the General Council. He was reelected in 1924. He died unexpectedly in Paris on 2 December 1926.

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Louis Henry 1874 births 1926 deaths People from Tarn (department) Politicians from Occitania (administrative region) Radical Party (France) politicians French Ministers of the Colonies Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic 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