Henri Tasso (8 October 1882 – 12 February 1944) was a French

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

politician. He served as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

from 1935 to 1939. He also served as a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

from 1924 to 1938, and of the Senate from 1938 to 1945.

Early life

Henri Tasso was born on 8 October 1882 in

. His parents, Michel-Théodore Tasso and Dominique Eusébie Marie Montefrestini, were Italian immigrants to France.Herrick Chapman, Laura Levine Frader, ''Race in France: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Politics of Difference'', Berghahn Books, 2004, p. 9

/ref>

Career

A member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), he served as a member of the National Assembly from 1924 to 1938. He supported the naturalisation of Italian immigrants, even those who were poor and unemployed. He served as the Socialist Mayor of Marseille from 1935 to 1939.Martin S. Alexander, Helen Graham, ''The French and Spanish Popular Fronts: Comparative Perspectives'', Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 20

/ref> On 8 October 1938 a fire burnt down Les Nouvelles Galeries, a department store on the

Canebière La Canebière is a historic high street in the old quarter of Marseille, France. Location About a kilometre long, it runs from the ''Old Port of Marseille'' to the ''Réformés'' quarter.Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls, ''Provence'', New Holland Publ ...

.Donna F. Ryan, ''The Holocaust & the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France'', University of Illinois Press, 1996, p. 1

/ref> Shortly after, he was dismissed. Others have argued he was dismissed "because of his inappropriate financial management and chronic overhiring of municipal workers."Junʼichi Kawata, ''Comparing Political Corruption and Clientelism'', Ashgate Publishing, 2006, pp. 183-18

/ref> He also served as a member of the Senate from 1938 to 1944.

Personal life

He married Thérèse Gairaud.

Death

He died on 12 February 1944 in Allauch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tasso, Henri 1882 births 1944 deaths Politicians from Marseille French people of Italian descent French Section of the Workers' International politicians 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 French Senators of the Third Republic Senators of Bouches-du-Rhône Mayors of Marseille