Jean Adrien François Lecanuet (4 March 1920 – 22 February 1993) was a French centrist politician.

Biography

Lecanuet was born to a family of modest means in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

, and gravitated towards philosophy studies. He received his diploma at the age of 22, becoming the youngest ''agrégé'' ("A+" professor) in France. He participated in the Second World War

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 ...

movement. In August 1944, he was arrested along with a commando that had just blown up the Lille-Brussels railroad, but he managed to escape with the help of a Pole who had been drafted into the German army. He then married Denise Paillard with whom he had three children. After the

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, he became a general inspector at the Ministry of Defence. Under the Fourth Republic, Lecanuet held ministerial posts numerous times (11 posts in 10 years) and was a member of the Christian-Democratic

Popular Republican Movement The Popular Republican Movement (french: Mouvement Républicain Populaire, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert Sc ...

(MRP). From 1951 to 1955, he was MRP deputy from the

Seine-Inférieure Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Infér ...

region. He became senator from

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

in 1959 and was president of the MRP from 1963 to 1965. In 1965, he ran in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

as a center-right candidate. He was supported by

Paul Reynaud Paul Reynaud (; 15 October 1878 – 21 September 1966) was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. Reynaud opposed the Munich Agreement of ...

. He advocated modernity and European integration and declared to represent a third way between Gaullism on the one hand and the Socialist and Communist Left on the other hand. His "modern-style" campaign and dashing smile had some journalists nickname him "the French Kennedy". Lecanuet obtained 3,777,120 votes (15.6%) in the election's first round, forcing

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

to compete in a second round against

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

. He replaced the ageing MRP by the Democratic Centre, integrating the liberal-conservative

National Centre of Independents and Peasants The National Centre of Independents and Peasants (''Centre National des Indépendants et Paysans'', CNIP) is a right-wing agrarian political party in France, founded in 1951 by the merger of the National Centre of Independents (the heir of the ...

. In 1972, Lecanuet founded the

Reforming Movement The Reformist Movement (french: Mouvement réformateur, MR) was a French centrist political alliance created in 1971 by the Radical Party (PR) led by Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, and the Christian-democratic Democratic Centre (CD) headed by ...

with

Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, often referred to as JJSS (13 February 19247 November 2006), was a French journalist and politician. He co-founded ''L'Express'' in 1953 with Françoise Giroud, and then went on to become president of the Radica ...

. During the French legislative elections of 1973, Lecanuet negotiated the withdrawal of candidates with

Pierre Messmer Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (; 20 March 191629 August 2007) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under L ...

to ensure the success of the majority. He was elected deputy of Seine-Maritime and actively participated in the 1974 presidential election campaign in support of

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...

. Lecanuet was Minister of Justice in

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a Politics of France, French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to ...

's first cabinet (1974–1976). From 1976 to 1977, he was Minister of State in charge of planning and the ''l’Aménagement du territoire'' (zoning commission)

Raymond Barre Raymond Octave Joseph Barre (; 12 April 192425 August 2007) was a French centre-right politician and economist. He was a Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs under three presidents (Rey, ...

's first cabinet. In 1978, he was elected president of the UDF, the party coalition created to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. He held that position until 1988. From 1979 to 1988, he was a Deputy in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

and, as Senator for

, the

French Senate The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' a ...

's chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Armed Forces Commission, a post that he had already held between 1971 and 1973. In 1986 at the beginning of the first period of "cohabitation" in modern French politics (a President and Prime Minister from opposing parties sharing power) Chirac nominated Lecanuet as Foreign Minister, but President

vetoed the appointment, along with some of Chirac's other nominees. In 1968, he was elected Mayor of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

, a position he held for 23 years until his death. He dies of cancer on the 22nd of February 1993.

References

Sources

* Chaline (Nadine-Josette), Jean Lecanuet, ''Beauchesne'', Paris, 2000. * Priol (Philippe), ''Jean Lecanuet, le vol de l’albatros'', Maître Jacques, Caen, 2001. , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lecanuet, Jean 1920 births 1993 deaths Politicians from Rouen Popular Republican Movement politicians Democratic Centre (France) politicians Reformist Movement (France) politicians Union for French Democracy politicians French Ministers of Justice Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic French Senators of the Fifth Republic Senators of Seine-Maritime Deputies of the 5th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 8th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Candidates for President of France Lycée Pierre-Corneille alumni French Resistance members French Righteous Among the Nations