Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury (19 August 1914 – 10 February 1993) was a Frenchstatesman and a member of the Companions of the Liberation. He served as President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) under the
Fourth French Republic
The French Fourth Republic () was the republican government of France, government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution of 13 October 1946. Essentially a reestablishment and continuation ...
.
Early life and education
Maurice Jean-Marie Bourgès was born in Luisant,
Eure-et-Loir
Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.Maurice Maunoury, was a minister during the
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
, and his great-grandfather, Pol Maunoury, served as a deputy for Eure-et-Loir.
Bourgès-Maunoury attended the prestigious
Before World War II, Bourgès-Maunoury aligned with the Young Turk faction within the Radical Socialist Party, which represented the left wing of the party. From 1935 to 1940, he served as an artillery officer.
Role in the Resistance
During the war, Bourgès-Maunoury joined the
French Resistance
The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
, working with the ''X-Libre'' network alongside figures like
Jacques Chaban-Delmas
Jacques Chaban-Delmas (; 7 March 1915 – 10 November 2000) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. He was the Mayor of Bordeaux from 1947 to 1995 and a deputy for the Gironde ''d ...
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
.
Ministerial roles
Bourgès-Maunoury held numerous government positions during the Fourth Republic. These included Minister of National Defence (1956–1957), where he supported a military solution to the
Algerian War
The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
and opposed the withdrawal from
Port Said
Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...
following the
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
. As Minister of the Interior (1957–1958), he faced significant unrest, including protests by police officers outside the
Palais Bourbon
The Palais Bourbon () is the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament. It is in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the Rive Gauche of the Seine across from the Place de la Concorde. The offi ...
in March 1958.
As President of the Council of Ministers from June to November 1957, Bourgès-Maunoury secured the ratification of the
Treaty of Rome
The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...
, establishing the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
.
Cooperation with Israel
Bourgès-Maunoury played a key role in fostering cooperation between France and Israel during the 1950s. Working with
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
, then Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Defense, he facilitated the acquisition of the first Dimona nuclear reactor and military equipment, including the Dassault Mystère IV fighter jet.
Opposition to the Fifth Republic
Bourgès-Maunoury opposed the return of General de Gaulle to power and campaigned against the
Constitution of the Fifth Republic
The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic , and it replaced the Constitution of the Fourth Republic of 1946 with the exception of the preamble per a 1971 d ...
. He unsuccessfully ran for the National Assembly for Landes in 1973.
Personal life
Bourgès-Maunoury married twice. His first marriage to Madeleine Giraud resulted in two sons, Jacques and Marc. His second marriage to Jacqueline Lacoste produced a daughter, Florence-Emmanuelle.
Croix de Guerre 1939–1945
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 d ...
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...
(UK)
*
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...