Albert Thomas (minister)
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Albert Thomas (16 June 1878 – 7 May 1932) was a prominent French Socialist and the first Minister of Armament for the
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, 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 19 ...
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 ...
. Following the
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, he was nominated as the first Director General of the
International Labour Office The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...
, a position he held until his death in 1932. As Director-General, he was succeeded by Harold Butler.


Early years

He was born at
Champigny-sur-Marne Champigny-sur-Marne (, literally ''Champigny on Marne'') is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Name Champigny-sur-Marne was originally called simply Champigny. The name Champigny ul ...
on 16 June 1878. In 1898, he entered the
École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...
, where he studied history and won a travelling scholarship which enabled him to visit Russia. Other educational distinctions followed, including degrees in literature and history at 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 ...
. In 1904, Thomas was both appointed to the editorial staff of ''
L'humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...
'' and elected a municipal councillor for Champigny, where, eight years later he was elected mayor. As a journalist, Thomas wrote for ''L'information'' and the ''Revue socialiste'' founded the ''Revue syndicaliste'' and subsequently launched ''L'Information ouvrière et sociale''.


National politics and war

In 1910, Thomas was elected member of the Chamber of Deputies for one of the constituencies of the
Department of the Seine 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 ...
, and he was re-elected in 1914. He became a member of the public works, railways, and finance committees of the Chamber and was active in shaping legislative measures, notably those relating to conditions in mines, industrial and agricultural workers pensions, and pensions for miners. When the
First World War 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 ...
broke out, Thomas served in a territorial regiment of the French Army for a few weeks after which he was summoned to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
and placed in control of the railway services, acting as a link between the General Staff and the Ministry of Public Works. In October 1914, the Government gave him the task of organising factories with a view to the intensive production of munitions. In May 1915, he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Artillery and Munitions, becoming Minister of Munitions the following year. Thomas first became a member of the
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
on 12 December 1915 when he was made the Sub-Minister of Artillery and Munitions under the
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 ...
. Due in large part to the need for more shells for the widely used "Soixante-Quinze" cannon, he was promoted again on 12 Dec 1916 to become Minister of Armaments. He answered only to the Prime Minister and subsequently President of the Republic, Raymond Poincaré. Thomas was removed from the Ministry on 12 September 1917 by
Louis Loucheur Louis Loucheur (12 August 1872 in Roubaix, Nord – 22 November 1931 in Paris) was a French politician in the Third Republic, at first a member of the conservative Republican Federation, then of the Democratic Republican Alliance and of the I ...
.


International Labour Office

Thomas was elected Deputy for
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. In November 1919, during the inaugural Session of the International Labour Conference in
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, at which he was not present, the Governing Body of the ILO chose him to be the Director of the Office. From then, Thomas gave himself up entirely to the work of the ILO. Thomas gave ILO a strong impetus from the very beginning. In a few years, he created, out of a small group of officials housed in a private residence in London, an international institution with a staff of 400 and a building of its own in
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. In the first two years, 16 international Labour Conventions and 18 Recommendations had been adopted. From 1920 onwards, the ILO launched an ambitious programme of publications, which included the ''Official Bulletin'', the monthly ''
International Labour Review The International Labour Review is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering labour and employment studies. It was established in 1921 by the International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United N ...
'' and various other periodicals and newspapers. As Director, Thomas took personal interest in recruiting an international team to form the Secretariat of the Organisation. His leadership helped to establish the image of the ILO as one of boundless enthusiasm and explosive energy. Opposition between national governments, organised labour and employer representative bodies soon began to develop, and the optimism that had prevailed immediately following the end of the war gave way to doubt and pessimism. Some members sought to restrict the powers and activities of the Organisation. Firstly, it was felt that the Conference had gone too far and too quickly in the output of Conventions and Recommendations. National governments and parliaments could not or would not keep up. Thomas, noting the disappointing number of ratifications reached the conclusion that over-production of Conventions and Recommendations should stop. The publications programme of the Office became a target for criticism, namely that its research was not objective and impartial. At the same time, efforts were being made to restrict the competence of the ILO. In 1921, the French government took the position that the ILO was not competent to deal with agricultural matters and the
Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...
was requested to give an advisory opinion on the question. The Court found that the competence of the ILO did extend to international regulation of the conditions of labour of persons in agriculture, rejecting a restrictive interpretation of the Constitution. Other attempts to induce the Court to restrict the scope of action of the ILO also failed in 1922 and 1926. Another serious difficulty emerged over the financing of the Organisation. Under the Constitution, the ILO was dependent on 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 ...
for its financing, but in all matters of general policy the Constitution provided the ILO for absolute independence. In 1923, a group of governments worked in the Governing Body to reduce the ILO's budget to approximately US $1,400,000 - which became established as a standard level for the ILO. The restriction of the budget made stabilization and consolidation of ILO programmes and activities necessary. That, in turn, had positive spillover effects. Between 1922 and 1931, the Conference continued to meet each year but adopted only 15 Conventions and 21 Recommendations. The limitation of the standard-setting work of the ILO allowed national governments to devote adequate attention to applying the provisions of the international agreements in national laws and regulations. More and more countries ratified ILO Conventions and ILO standards began to exercise an effective influence in the improvements of conditions of life and work. In 1926, an important innovation was introduced when the International Labour Conference set up a supervisory system on the application of its standards, which still exists today. It created the Committee of Experts composed of independent jurists responsible for examining government reports and presenting its own report each year to the Conference. The stabilization of the ILO's basic programmes in no sense implied stagnation. As Director, Thomas continued to inspire his staff to take advantage of every opportunity to promote the objectives of the ILO. He was a great believer in the "policy of presence", and he spent a good deal of time travelling in order to seek support for the objectives and functions of the Organisation. He visited all the European countries, as well as countries in North and South America, China and Japan. In 1932, after having assured the ILO's strong presence in the world for 13 years, Thomas suddenly died at 53.


Sources

* * International Labour Organization Website *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Albert 1878 births 1932 deaths International Labour Organization people People from Champigny-sur-Marne Politicians of the French Third Republic École Normale Supérieure alumni