Henri Guernut was a French politician born on 2 November 1876 in Lavaqueresse in the Aisne and died 28 May 1943 in Paris.

Biography

Early life

His parents were peasants in

Thiérache The Thiérache () is a region of France and Belgium united by similar geography and architecture, including the presence of hedgerows, grassland, hilly terrain, scattered settlements, and traditionally-built stone or brick houses with stone dividi ...

. Henri got the attention of his teacher and was sent to the school of

Vervins Vervins (; nl, Wervin) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. It lies between the small streams Vilpion and Chertemps, which drain towards the Serre. It is surroun ...

. He was then granted a scholarship to continue at the high school of Laon and then of Lille. He was then accepted at the prestigious

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...

. He finally went to

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and obtained a degree in law.

Defending human rights

He published some articles in The La Revue socialis and got involved in

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 ...

. He joined the French League for the Defense of Human and Citizen's Rights which had just been founded and was later called the

Human Rights League (France) The Human Rights League (french: Ligue des droits de l’homme ''t du citoyen' or LDH) of France is a Human Rights NGO association to observe, defend and promulgation of Rights Man within the French Republic in all spheres of public life. The ...

. In 1912 he became secretary general of the league. For his reformist position he did not participate in the 1914–1918 war. He remained general secretary of the League of Human Rights from 1912 to 1932.

Political activities

In 1924, he ran for legislative elections in

Château-Thierry Château-Thierry () is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition at ...

but he was beaten. In 1928, he was elected as an independent leftist. Henri was reelected in 1932 at

Radical Party (France) The Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party (french: Parti républicain, radical et radical-socialiste) is a liberal and formerly social-liberal political party in France. It is also often referred to simply as the Radical Party (frenc ...

. He finally left his responsibilities of directing the League of Human Rights. He became Minister of National Education from 24 January to 4 June 1936 in the government of Albert Sarraut (2) but the victory of the Popular Front led to his departure. He was replaced by Jean Zay. He also lost his seat as deputy of the Aisne, in favor of Paul Lambin of SFIO – French Section of the Workers' International.

Final battles

He then returned to the League of Human Rights and attacked the " Stalinist tyranny" while it not have a very clear position on the issue and did not denounce the Moscow Trials.Henri Guernut (1876–1943)Thiérachien, député de l’Aisne
He continued writing his columns in his newspaper ''La Tribune de l'Aisne'', but suspended this activity in 1940. Taking up his lawyer's dress, he tried to defend victims of the Occupation. He died in 1943 of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guernut, Henri French human rights activists

National Education Moral and national education (MNE), initially known as Moral and civic education (MCE), was a school curriculum proposed by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong in 2012. The subject was controversial for its stance on the Chinese Communist Part ...

Radical French social liberals French 1876 births 1943 deaths