Jean Paul Pierre Casimir-Perier (; 8 November 1847 – 11 March 1907) was a French politician who served as

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...

from 1894 to 1895.

Biography

He was born in Paris, the son of Auguste Casimir-Perier, the grandson of Casimir Pierre Perier, premier of

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

, and the great grandson of Claude Périer, one of the founders of the Bank of France. He entered public life as secretary to his father, who was

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

under the presidency of Thiers. In 1874 he was elected General Councillor of the

Aube Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

in the general elections of 1876, and he was always re-elected until his presidency. In spite of the traditions of his family, Casimir-Perier joined the group of Republicans on the

Left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

, and was one of the 363 on the

Seize-Mai The 16 May 1877 crisis (french: link=no, Crise du seize mai) was a constitutional crisis in the French Third Republic concerning the distribution of power between the president and the legislature. When the royalist president Patrice MacMahon ...

(1877). He refused to vote the "expulsion of the Princes" in 1883, and resigned as Deputy upon the enactment of the law (26 June 1886) because of his personal connections with the

family of Orléans Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

. On 17 August 1883 he became Under-Secretary of State for War, a post he retained until 7 January 1885. From 1890 to 1892 he was Vice President of the Chamber, then in 1893 President. On 3 December he became President of the council, holding the department of Foreign Affairs, resigned in May 1894, and was re-elected President of the Chamber. On 24 June 1894, after the assassination of President Carnot, he was elected President of the Republic by 451 votes against 195 for

Henri Brisson Eugène Henri Brisson (; 31 July 183514 April 1912) was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France for a period in 1885-1886 and again in 1898. Biography He was born at Bourges (Cher), and followed his father's profession of advocate. Havi ...

and 97 for

Charles Dupuy Charles Alexandre Dupuy (; 5 November 1851 – 23 July 1923) was a French statesman, three times prime minister. Biography He was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire, Auvergne, where his father was a minor official. After a period as a profe ...

. His presidency lasted only six months. The resignation of the Dupuy ministry on 14 January 1895 was followed the next day by that of the President. Casimir-Perier explained his action by the fact that he found himself ignored by the ministers, who did not consult him before taking decisions, and did not keep him informed upon political events, especially in foreign affairs. Perier died on 11 March 1907 in Paris of

Angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstru ...

. As of 2021, of all Presidents of France through its history, Casimir-Perier had the shortest presidency. From that time he completely abandoned politics, and devoted himself to business – especially mining. At the trial of

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

, Casimir-Perier's evidence, as opposed to that of General Mercier, was of great value to the cause of Dreyfus.

Casimir-Perier's Ministry, 3 December 1893 – 30 May 1894

*Jean Casimir-Perier – President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs *

Auguste Mercier Auguste Mercier (8 December 1833 – 3 March 1921) was a French general and Minister of War at the time of the Dreyfus Affair. Military career Auguste Mercier was born in Arras. He entered the École Polytechnique at the age of 19 in 1852, a ...

– Minister of War *

David Raynal David Raynal (July 26, 1840 – January 28, 1903) was a French politician of the French Third Republic. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies of France (1879–1897) and Senate of France (1897–1903). He was twice minister of public works ( ...

– Minister of the Interior * Auguste Burdeau – Minister of Finance *

Antonin Dubost Antonin Dubost (6 April 1842 – 16 April 1921) was a French journalist, State Councillor and Senator. He served as President of the French Senate from 1906 to 1920. He was a member of the Democratic Republican Alliance. Dubost was born at L'Arb ...

– Minister of Justice * Jean Marty – Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Colonies * Auguste Alfred Lefèvre – Minister of Marine * Eugène Spuller – Minister of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Worship *

Albert Viger Albert Viger (19 October 1843 – 8 July 1926) was a French politician of the Third French Republic. He served three times as minister of agriculture in the governments of Alexandre Ribot, Charles Dupuy, Jean Casimir-Perier, Léon Bourgeois and H ...

– Minister of Agriculture * Charles Jonnart – Minister of Public Works Changes *20 March 1894 – Jean Marty becomes Minister of Posts and Telegraphs as well as Minister of Commerce and Industry. Ernest Boulanger succeeds Marty as Minister of Colonies.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casimir-Perier, Jean 1847 births 1907 deaths Politicians from Paris French Roman Catholics French republicans 19th-century presidents of France 19th-century Princes of Andorra Prime Ministers of France French Foreign Ministers Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (France) Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic People associated with the Dreyfus affair Deaths from angina pectoris