Jacques Baumel (6 March 1918 – 17 February 2006) was a French politician. He was born on 6 March 1918 in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and died on 17 February 2006 in

Rueil-Malmaison Rueil-Malmaison () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 78,152. It is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Par ...

. He was a

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 ...

fighter (under the aliases "Saint-Just", "Berneix" or "Rossini"), deputy in the National Assembly, a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, an important leader of the Gaullist movement, and secretary of state and mayor of

Resistance fighter

After medical studies in France, Baumel took part in the French Resistance and directed the

Combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

resistance group in arseille._In_1943,_he_was_secretary_general_of_the_Mouvements_Unis_de_la_Résistance_(United_movements_of_the_Resistance)_(MUR)._In_1945,_helped_to_found_the_Democratic_and_Socialist_Union_of_the_Resistance.html" ;"title="Mouvements_Unis_de_la_Résistance.html" ;"title="arseille. In 1943, he was secretary general of the Mouvements Unis de la Résistance">arseille. In 1943, he was secretary general of the Mouvements Unis de la Résistance (United movements of the Resistance) (MUR). In 1945, helped to found the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance">Union démocratique et socialiste de la Résistance (UDSR). He was amember of the Provisional Consultative Assembly. In 1945, he was elected deputy of the National Assembly of Moselle (department), Moselle to the First National Constituent Assembly, was elected in Creuse to the Second Assembly but defeated in the elections to the National Assembly of 1946. He chaired the parliamentary group of the UDSR. He participated in the development of Rassemblement du peuple français (

Rally of the French People The Rally of the French People (french: Rassemblement du Peuple Français, RPF) was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle. Foundation The RPF was founded by Charles de Gaulle in Strasbourg on 14 April 1947, one year after his resign ...

) (RPF) from its founding in 1947.

Record of political longevity

As a senator from 1959 to 1967, he was one of the assistant secretaries general of the

Union for the New Republic The Union for the New Republic (french: L'Union pour la nouvelle République, UNR), was a French political party founded on 1 October 1958 that supported Prime Minister Charles de Gaulle in the 1958 elections. History The UNR won 206 of 579 s ...

(UNR). He went to the United States and examined the campaign of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

in 1960. He became the general secretary of the Gaullist movement on 7 December 1962 after the success of the UNR in November, a position he held until 19 January 1968, when he was replaced by

Robert Poujade Robert Poujade (6 May 1928 – 8 April 2020), born in Moulins, Allier, was a French politician. He was the first French Minister of the Environment and was mayor of Dijon from 1971 to 2001. Biography The son of a professor of literatur ...

. He was elected during the new elections to the National Assembly in 1967 and held a seat in

Palais Bourbon The Palais Bourbon () is the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the ''Rive Gauche'' of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concor ...

until 2002. He was a member of the UniNR, of the Union for the Defence of the Republic (UDR) and

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic (french: Rassemblement pour la République ; RPR ), was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 a ...

(RPR).

Mayor for 33 years

Baumel was secretary of sate to the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Jacques Chaban-Delmas Jacques Chaban-Delmas (; 7 March 1915 – 10 November 2000) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. He was the Mayor of Bordeaux from 1947 to 1995 and a deputy for the Gironde ''d� ...

, from 20 June 1969 to 5 July 1972. He was mayor of Rueil-Malmaison, "a provincial town outside Paris" to use his words, from 1971 to 2004, at the origin of (now Rueil-sur-Seine). He practiced an active policy of twinning with many foreign cities (19 in all). His municipal policy promoted the establishment of head offices of important business, both French and foreign. The

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

system is particularly strong in his city. A library opened in 2002 that bears his name.

Expert on parliamentary diplomacy

He chaired the general council of Hauts-de-Seine for nine years starting in 1970 (from 1970 to 1973 and from 1976 to 1982). Internationally, he represented the

French Parliament The French Parliament (french: Parlement français) is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate () and the National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris: ...

in the

Assembly of the Western European Union The Assembly of the Western European Union, also called the European Security and Defence Assembly, was a parliamentary assembly for delegations from the national parliaments of the member countries of the Western European Union (WEU), a securit ...

and the

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...

where he opposed all forms of totalitarianism. He is buried in the village cemetery of

Fourneville Fourneville () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas reg ...

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

. His wife, Louise Bachelot, was born on 11 September 1924 and died on 14 November 2013. Baumel appeared as a witness in Patrick Pesnot's 2005 television documentary, ''La traversée du désert'' (Crossing the Desert).

Publications

* * * * * * *

Achievements

* Officer 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, ...

* Compagnon de la Libération (Companion of the Liberation) *

Croix de guerre 1939–1945 The ''Croix de Guerre 1939–1945'' (English: War Cross 1939–1945) is a French military decoration, a version of the ''Croix de Guerre'' created on 26 September 1939 to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis forces at any ti ...

(1939-1945 War Cross) * French

Resistance Medal The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...

References

External links