Jacques Chevallier (15 November 1911, in
Bordeaux – 13 April 1971) was a liberal
pied noir mayor of
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
who governed the city at the head of a coalition of
pied noir and Moslem representatives.
He was also the secretary of state for war in the government of
Pierre Mendès-France.
Chevallier was born on 15 November 1911 in
Bordeaux. His father Etienne Chavellier was an industrialist who also had lands in
Algeria; his mother was born Corinne de la Bédoyère Huchet de Kernion. He studied at various Catholic colleges, including
Notre Dame d’Afrique at Algiers, and at the
University of Algiers where he obtained a degree in law.
He married Renée Missé on 27 December 1932. They had five sons and two daughters, one of whom is the historian and novelist
Corinne Chevallier
Corinne Chevallier (born 25 June 1935) is an Algerian historian and novelist of pied noir descent. Her father, Jacques Chevallier, was mayor of Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ...
.
After World War II, he helped
Boris Souvarine
Boris Souvarine (1 November 1895 – 1 November 1984), also known as Varine, was a French Marxist, communist activist, essayist and journalist.
A founding member of the French Communist Party, Souvarine is noted for being the only non-Russian com ...
to recreate the
Institut d'histoire sociale
An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes can ...
(
fr, institute for social history).
He was the interim president of Institut d'Histoire Sociale from 1956 to 1957.
La Souvarine - Institut d'Histoire sociale
On 16 May 1955, Chevallier secured the parole of eleven FLN detainees who had been arrested after the November 1954 attacks, including Benyoucef Benkhedda, the future president of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic.
After Algerian independence in 1962, Chevallier was one of the few pieds noirs who took Algerian citizenship and remained in the new state.
References
Bibliography
Jacques Chevallier,
Nous, Algériens
', Calmann-Lévy, 1958 - 187 pages
1911 births
1971 deaths
Politicians from Bordeaux
French people of colonial Algeria
Algerian people of French descent
French Social Party politicians
National Centre of Independents and Peasants politicians
Rally of the French People politicians
Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic
Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic
Members of Parliament for French Algeria
Mayors of Algiers
University of Algiers alumni
{{Algeria-politician-stub