André Vidal (18 December 1908 – 27 September 1984) was a French engineer and politician. Vidal was born in

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

on 18 December 1908, to a middle-class family with origins in

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...

Mazamet Mazamet (; Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ''Masamet'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in southern France. It is the second-largest component of the Castres-Mazamet metropolit ...

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

, and Gersoise. He attended

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

and became an engineer. In 1932, Vidal founded a consulting company, and served in the French military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Vidal was elected to 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 repr ...

in 1958 and served until the end of his term in 1962. He represented Tarn's 2nd constituency on behalf of the

Union for the New Republic The Union for the New Republic (, , UNR) was a Gaullist political party in France, formed in support of Charles de Gaulle in the 1958 elections. History The UNR won 189 of 466 seats in the November 1958 elections. In 1962, the UNR grouped ...

. In the next election cycle, Vidal ran as an independent candidate, and was unseated by Antonin Tirefort. Vidal also contested the 1968 legislative elections, which saw the defeat of Tirefort's successor, Jacques Limouzy. Thereafter, Vidal retired from electoral politics, and ran the Center for Applied Psychology, which he had established. Vidal died in Paris on 27 September 1984, aged 75.

References

1908 births 1984 deaths People from Constantine, Algeria People of French Algeria Pieds-noirs Union for the New Republic politicians Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Tarn 20th-century French engineers École Polytechnique alumni French military personnel of World War II {{Tarn-politician-stub