Marcel Héraud (5 May 1883 – 17 September 1960) was a French lawyer and politician who was briefly

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

in 1940.

Early years (1883–1924)

Marcel Héraud was born on 5 May 1883 in

Cérilly, Allier Cérilly () is a commune in the Allier department in central France. It is in close proximity to the largest and oldest untouched oak forest in western Europe: the Forest of Tronçais. Many oak trees exceed 250 years in age. The Troncais (pro ...

. His parents were Adrien Héraud, a doctor and consultant at the thermal baths of

Luxeuil-les-Bains Luxeuil-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. History Luxeuil (sometimes rendered Luxeu in older texts) was the Roman Luxovium and contained many fine buildings at ...

, and Alice Delarue. Marcel Héraud attended the

Collège Stanislas de Paris The Collège Stanislas de Paris (), colloquially known as Stan, is a highly selective private Catholic school in Paris, situated on " Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs" in the 6th arrondissement. It has more than 3,000 students, from preschool to '' clas ...

for his secondary education, then entered the Faculty of Law of Paris and the School of Political Sciences ( Ecole des sciences politiques). He obtained a degree in law and began a career as a trainee advocate in 1908. He married Lucie Félix-Bouvier on 2 December 1909. They would have one daughter. In 1912 he was admitted to the bar of the Paris Court of Appeal. In 1912 he was awarded the Prix Laval. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–18) Héraud enlisted as a volunteer on 2 August 1914. He was a sergeant of the 2nd mixed regiment of ''

zouave The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

s'' and riflemen in 1916 when he was wounded before the fort of

Douaumont Douaumont () is a former commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Douaumont-Vaux.Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

and was awarded the Military Medal (''

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

'') and the 1914–18 War Cross (''

Croix de guerre 1914–1918 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

''). Héraud was elected municipal councilor in the 6th arrondissement of Paris,

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Saint-Germain-des-Prés () is one of the four administrative quarters of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Its official borders are the River Seine on the north ...

, in 1919. In 1920 he was elected councilor-general of the

Seine department Seine was the former department of France encompassing Paris and its immediate suburbs. It is the only enclaved department of France at that time. Its prefecture was Paris and its INSEE number was 75. The Seine department was disbanded in 1968 ...

. He was mainly concerned with financial questions and services such as transport and electricity. He participated in the Federal Union of French Associations of the Wounded (Union fédérale des associations françaises de mutilés). In 1923 he was vice-president of the municipal council of Paris.

Deputy (1924–1940)

On 11 May 1924 Héraud was elected deputy for the 3rd district of the Seine in the first round of voting, on the Democratic Republican Union (Union républicaine démocratique) list. He sat in the chamber with the Democratic Republic Left (Gauche républicaine démocratique). He was reelected on 22 April 1928 in the first round. During his long parliamentary career Héraud was active in various parliamentary committees, and was particularly involved in the committee on Foreign Affairs. He made proposals on various subjects, but his main interest was in legal topics such as the civil code, penal code, code of criminal procedure and so on. Héraud was under-secretary of state to the President of the Council from 3 November 1929 to 21 February 1930, and from 2 March 1930 to 13 December 1930. He became a member of the

Croix-de-Feu , logo = Croix de Feu.svg , logo_size = 200px , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = François de La Rocque , foundation = 11 November 1927 , dissolution = 10 January 1936 , successor = F ...

veterans' organization, probably mainly to win votes in the 1932 elections. Héraud was reelected on 8 May 1932 in the second round, and sat in the chamber with the Republican Center. He was reelected on 3 May 1936 in the second round, and sat with the group of Independent Republicans. He was Minister of Public Health from 21 March 1940 to 5 June 1940 in the cabinet of

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 ...

. On 10 July 1940 he was among the majority who voted to give Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...

full executive powers.

Later career (1940–60)

Héraud retired from politics after the vote of 10 July 1940. He returned to the Paris bar, where he was mainly involved in civil cases, but pleaded several high-profile criminal cases. He joined the Council of the Order of Advocates (Conseil de l'Ordre des avocats) in 1945. He was '' Bâtonnier'' of the Order from 1953 to 1955. He defended the collaborationist Jacques Benoist-Méchin in the high court, and obtained the acquittal of Paul Creyssel, the former deputy of the Seine. He also participated in the notorious trial of Gaston Dominici. Marcel Héraud died in his home in Paris on 17 September 1960 at the age of 77.

Publications

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Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heraud, Marcel 1883 births 1960 deaths People from Allier Politicians from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Democratic Republican Alliance politicians Republican Centre politicians French Ministers of Health Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 15th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Collège Stanislas de Paris alumni