The Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe is a public-utility and independent institution, created in 1978 by

Jean Monnet Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, administrator, and political visionary. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the ...

and Henri Rieben, and dedicated to the conservation of Monnet's archives. Based in Lausanne since its creation, the foundation is located since 1981 at the Ferme de Dorigny, on the campus of the University of Lausanne. The foundation's activities range from the organization of events (conferences, dialogues, academic seminars and Gold Medal Award ceremonies) to the conservation and the enhancement of its collection of archives and documents. The origins of the foundation date from a meeting between Jean Monnet and

Henri Rieben Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mont ...

in 1955 and it is located at the "Farm of Dorigny", in the heart of the

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

of the University of Lausanne in Lausanne,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The foundation is inspired by the thinking, methods and actions of

.Olivier Perrin
"Jean Monnet, l'Européen dont l'héritage vit à Lausanne"
'' Le Temps'', Wednesday 13 July 2016 (page visited on 13 July 2016).

History

The origins of the foundation can be traced back to the encounter between Jean Monnet and

in 1955. From that time, several associations were created at the initiative of the two men. Reasons for the creation of these organizations are found when considering the devotion to and the great interest that Rieben had in Monnet, as well as the easiness to create associations in Switzerland. Jean_Monnet

The first of these initiatives was the , which had for mission the administrative management of the

Action Committee for the United States of Europe The Action Committee for the United States of Europe (french: Comité d'action pour les États-Unis d'Europe), colloquially referred to as the Monnet Committee, was a collective initiative spearheaded by Jean Monnet from 1955 to 1975 that aimed a ...

. Registered in 1955 in Lausanne, Henri Rieben becomes its administrative secretary and Monnet its president. The facilities of the Comité d'action, however, were located in Paris, at the Avenue Foch, until its dissolution in 1975. In 1957, Jean Monnet and Henri Rieben created another association in Lausanne, the Centre de recherches européennes, dedicated to creating a documentation center for European Studies. Under the command of Henri Rieben, the center published numerous academic works as part of the "Cahiers rouges" collection. The third association was created in 1963 in Lausanne with the signatures of Jean Monnet as president and Henri Rieben as administrative secretary. Under the name of "Institut de recherches historiques européennes" (translated as "Institute for European Historical Research"), its aim was to gather archives and produce knowledge about the history of

European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...

. It was also located at the Avenue Foch, in Paris. Its first editorial project was the publication of the

Memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

of Jean Monnet. In 1978, Jean Monnet entrusted the institute with all of his archives. The transfer from Paris to Lausanne was carried out during the same year, six months before Monnet's death. The institute was dissolved in 1983, as the Centre de recherches européennes was created. In the same year, Jean Monnet and Rieben created a new association, under the name of Fondation Jean Monnet pour l'Europe. Its goals were to preserve the Jean Monnet archives and, "inspired by the thinking, methods and actions of Jean Monnet", to support initiatives dedicated to the establishment of European unity.

Gold Medals of the Foundation

The Gold Medal of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe (''Médaille d'or de la Fondation Jean Monnet pour l'Europe'') was awarded to:

Presidents of the Foundation

* 1978–2005:

* 2006–2008: Bronislaw Geremek * 2009–2014:

José Maria Gil-Robles José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

* Since 2015:

Pat Cox Patrick Cox (born 28 November 1952) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician, journalist and television current affairs presenter who served as President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004 and Leader of the European Liberal Democrat an ...

Publications

The Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe has been publishing works as part of two different collections: * The "Cahiers rouges" collection, created in 1957. Under the command of Henri Rieben, it will present historical sources,

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

s and conference proceedings about subjects ranging from Monnet's life to international relations between Switzerland and Europe. The collection aims to nourish debates about both the history and the current course of

, as well as establishing a collective memory of European construction by collecting and publishing testimonies of protagonists. * "Debates and Documents" collection, launched in 2014. The series aims to contribute to current debates about European issues and to enhance the archival collection of the foundation. It publishes about two issues per year.

Notes and references

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Organizations related to the European Union History of the European Union Organisations based in Lausanne