Maurice Schumann (; 10 April 1911 – 9 February 1998) was a French politician, journalist, writer, and hero of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

who served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

under

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

from 22 June 1969 to 15 March 1973. Schumann was a member of the Christian democratic

Popular Republican Movement The Popular Republican Movement (french: Mouvement Républicain Populaire, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert Sc ...

. The son of an Alsatian Jewish father and Roman Catholic mother, he studied at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly and the Lycée Henri-IV. He converted to his mother's faith in 1937. He once said of France's fate when suffering the Allied bombing raids, '....and now we are reduced to the most atrocious fate: to be killed without killing back, to be killed by friends without being able to kill our enemies'. During the

he broadcast news reports and commentaries into France on the BBC French Service some 1,000 times in programs such as ''Honneur et Patrie''.Across the Waves: How the United States and France Shaped the International Age of Radio by Derek W Vaillant
/ref> He was called by some the "voice of France". During a meeting of the foreign ministers of the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization 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 Lis ...

in 1969, he stated France's conditions for Britain joining the community on its third application, i.e. questions of agricultural finance had to be settled first. Schumann died on 9 February 1998 in Paris, aged 86.

References

External links

Interview about the French nuclear program
for the WGBH series
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schumann, Maurice 1911 births 1998 deaths Politicians from Paris French Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism Popular Republican Movement politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Rally for the Republic politicians French Foreign Ministers Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1946) Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 4th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French Senators of the Fifth Republic Senators of Nord (French department) Vice-presidents of the Senate (France) French contract bridge players Lycée Henri-IV alumni Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni University of Paris alumni Members of the Académie Française Companions of the Liberation Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Sportspeople from Nord (French department) French people of German descent