Pierre Marie Gallois (29 June 1911 – 24 August 2010) was a French air force

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and geopolitician. He was instrumental in the constitution of the French nuclear arsenal, and is considered one of the fathers of the French atom bomb.

Biography

Gallois was born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

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, in 1911 as his parents were travelling. Gallois grew fond of flying as he watched fighters during his childhood through World War I. After studies at

Lycée Janson de Sailly In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

and the War School in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, he was made a

Sous-Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 1936 in a Sahara wing at Colomb-Béchar, and later promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

the same year. In 1939, he was transferred to the General staff of the Fifth air region in

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 ...

. In 1943, Gallois reached

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and joined the only two French heavy bomber squadrons in Royal Air Force Bomber Command as a Halifax bomber crewman at RAF Elvington, near York. He took part in raids against

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industries until March 1945. After the war, Gallois was detached to civil aviation and took part in conferences of the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sc ...

. He rejoined the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

in 1948 as an aid in the cabinet of the chief of staff of the ''Armée de l'air''. A specialist of equipment and manufacturing, he wrote the quinquennal plan for aeronautic production, which was accepted by the Parliament in August 1950, and studied production plans at the European level. He took part in discussions regarding the use of

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

aid in Western Europe. From 1953 to 1954, Gallois, by then a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, was affected to the cabinet of the

minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), 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 coun ...

. He also worked for the

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander ...

at the same time, working on the consequences of the existence of

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...

on modern strategy. From 1953, he campaigned for a French nuclear deterrence, stressing the notions of "personal deterrence" (french: dissuasion personnelle) and "weak-to-strong deterrence" (french: dissuasion du faible au fort). Gallois retired from the Army in 1957. In 2003, he co-founded the ''

Forum pour la France Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

'' ("Forum for France"), which supports "sovereignty and independence of France". Gallois campaigned against the

Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European U ...

. He was a staunch supporter of Serbia during Balkan clashes, and one of the main critics of NATO and role of NATO in Yugoslav crisis. He was very respected and admired in Serbia, not only due to that fact. He died 24 August 2010 at the age of 99.

External links

Gallois (Pierre M.) Speeches and Writings

Les chroniques du général Pierre-Marie Gallois sur le site des Manants du Roi

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallois, Pierre Marie 1911 births 2010 deaths French generals Geopoliticians Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Foreign members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni