Augustin Alfred Joseph Paul-Boncour (; 4 August 1873 – 28 March 1972) was a French politician and diplomat of the
Third Republic. He was a member of the
Republican-Socialist Party
The Republican-Socialist Party (french: Parti républicain-socialiste, PRS) was a French socialist political party during the French Third Republic founded in 1911 and dissolved in 1934.
Founded by non-Marxist socialists who refused to join the ...
(PRS) and served as
Prime Minister of France
The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers.
The prime minister ...
from December 1932 to January 1933. He also served in a number of other government positions during the 1930s and as a Permanent Delegate to the League of Nations in 1936 during his tenure as Minister of State.
Career
Born in
Saint-Aignan, Loir-et-Cher, Paul-Boncour received a law degree from the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
and became active in the
labor movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
, organizing the legal council of the ''
Bourses du Travail
The Bourse du Travail (French for "labour exchanges"), a French form of the labour council, were working class organizations that encouraged mutual aid, education, and self-organization amongst their members in the late nineteenth and earl ...
'' (
workers' associations). He was private secretary to Premier
Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau
Pierre Marie René Ernest Waldeck-Rousseau (; 2 December 184610 August 1904) was a French Republican politician who served as the Prime Minister of France.
Early life
Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau was born in Nantes, Brittany. His father, René W ...
from 1898 to 1902. Elected to the
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 ...
as a
Radical
Radical may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change
*Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
in 1909, he held his seat until 1914, briefly serving as
Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
from March to June 1911. After serving in the military during World War I, he returned to the
French National Assembly
The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...
.
Turning to Socialism, he joined the
SFIO
The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...
in 1916. Paul-Boncour left the socialist party in 1931 because he considered imperative, in face of the League of Nations progressive powerlessness, to reinforce national defence, something the socialists opposed. After his resignation from the SFIO in 1931 he joined the
Republican-Socialist Party
The Republican-Socialist Party (french: Parti républicain-socialiste, PRS) was a French socialist political party during the French Third Republic founded in 1911 and dissolved in 1934.
Founded by non-Marxist socialists who refused to join the ...
(PRS), which in 1935 merged with the
French Socialist Party (PSF) and the
Socialist Party of France-Jean Jaurès Union
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
PSdF) to form the
Socialist Republican Union
The Socialist Republican Union (french: Union socialiste républicaine, USR) was a political party in France founded in 1935 during the late Third Republic which united the right-wing of the French Section of the Workers' International with the ...
(USR). Also in 1931, Paul-Boncour was elected to the
Senate
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 ...
, and served in that capacity until the establishment of the
Vichy régime
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the Fascism, fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of ...
in 1940 (during World War II).
During his time as a Senator, Paul-Boncour served in a variety of cabinet and diplomatic posts. He was the Permanent Delegate to the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
from 1932 to 1936,
Minister of War
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
in 1932, Premier from December 1932 to January 1933, and
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
on two occasions (December 1932 to January 1934 and March–April 1938).
Paul-Boncour was
opposed to the formation of the Vichy government, and recommended continuing the fight against
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
after the
fall of France, from
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 ...
. As a member of the Consultative Assembly from 1944, he led the French delegation to the
United Nations conference in San Francisco and signed the ''
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...
'' on behalf of France. He once again served as a senator from 1946 to 1948.
He died in Paris on 28 March 1972 at the age of 98.
Paul-Boncour's Ministry, 18 December 1932 – 31 January 1933
*Joseph Paul-Boncour – President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
*
Édouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, and the Prime Minister of France who signed the Munich Agreement before the outbreak of World War II.
Daladier was born in Carpe ...
– Minister of War
*
Camille Chautemps
Camille Chautemps (1 February 1885 – 1 July 1963) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic, three times President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister).
He was the father-in-law of U.S. politician and statesman Howard J. ...
– Minister of the Interior
*
Henri Chéron
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 Montm ...
– Minister of Finance
*
Albert Dalimier
Albert François Marie Dalimier (20 February 1875 – 6 May 1936) was a French politician.
Between 1932 and 1934 he was Minister of Labor (France), Minister of Labor, Minister of the Colonies (France), Minister of the Colonies (twice) and Minister ...
– Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
*
Abel Gardey
Abel Gardey (21 November 1882, Margouët-Meymes, Gers – 23 September 1957, Pouylebon) was a French politician. He served as the Minister of Agriculture in the third Herriot government. In 1933, he was the French Minister of Budget. He later ...
– Minister of Justice
*
Georges Leygues – Minister of Marine
*
Léon Meyer – Minister of Merchant Marine
*
Paul Painlevé
Paul Painlevé (; 5 December 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French mathematician and statesman. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925. His entry into politic ...
– Minister of Air
*
Anatole de Monzie
Anatole de Monzie (22 November 1876, Bazas, Gironde – 11 January 1947, Paris) was a French administrator, encyclopaedist ('' Encyclopédie française''), political figure and scholar. His father was a tax collector in Bazas, Gironde whe ...
– Minister of National Education
*
Edmond Miellet – Minister of Pensions
*
Henri Queuille – Minister of Agriculture
*
Albert Sarraut
Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic.
Biography
Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France.
On 14 March 1907 Sarraut, ...
– Minister of Colonies
*
Georges Bonnet – Minister of Public Works
*
Charles Daniélou – Minister of Public Health
*
Laurent Eynac
Laurent Eynac (4 October 1886 – 16 December 1970) was a French politician who was appointed Minister of Transportation (France), Minister of Transportation on 7 June 1935 until 24 January 1936. He was born in Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille, Haute-Lo ...
– Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones
*
Julien Durand – Minister of Commerce and Industry
List of positions held
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul-Boncour, Joseph
1873 births
1972 deaths
People from Loir-et-Cher
Politicians from Centre-Val de Loire
Republican-Socialist Party politicians
French Section of the Workers' International politicians
Socialist Republican Union politicians
Prime Ministers of France
French Foreign Ministers
French Ministers of War
French Ministers of War and National Defence
State ministers of France
Government ministers of France
Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
French Senators of the Third Republic
French Senators of the Fourth Republic
Senators of Loir-et-Cher
French senators elected by the National Assembly
The Vichy 80
20th-century French diplomats
French military personnel of World War I