Désiré Ferry (26 October 1886 – 11 January 1940) was a French politician of the Third Republic. Ferry was born in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. He studied law at the

University of Nancy A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

and worked as a writer and publisher. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served with the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

. He was three times wounded, promoted to captain, received the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

, and was made a member of

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. This led to his being elected as prime minister of marines. After the war, Ferry was appointed by

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A physician turned journalist, he played a central role in the poli ...

to work on the reintegration of the provinces of Alsace-Lorraine which had been recovered from the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. In the 1919 elections, he stood as the junior candidate for the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

on a list headed by future

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Albert Lebrun Albert François Lebrun (; 29 August 1871 – 6 March 1950) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1932 to 1940. He was the last president of the Third Republic. He was a member of the centre-right Democratic Republica ...

. The list was elected in its entirety in the overwhelming victory for the Bloc national. Ferry was reelected continuously until 1936, when he lost his seat. He was generally associated with the Fédération républicaine, from 1932 to 1936 with the Republican Centre. Ferry served as a very successful

Minister of Marine One of France's Secretaries of State under the Ancien Régime was entrusted with control of the French Navy ( Secretary of State of the Navy (France).) In 1791, this title was changed to Minister of the Navy. Before January 1893, this position als ...

in the short-lived government of Frédéric François-Marsal. In 1930, he served as

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

in the second government of

André Tardieu André Pierre Gabriel Amédée Tardieu (; 22 September 1876 – 15 September 1945) was three times Prime Minister of France (3 November 1929 – 17 February 1930; 2 March – 4 December 1930; 20 February – 10 May 1932) and a dominant figure of ...

. In this job, he did what he could to ameliorate the unhealthy conditions in which French soldiers lived in. On the outbreak of the

Second World War 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 ...

, Ferry was recalled to service as the commandant of the 128th Fortress Infantry Regiment. After having served and commanded fittingly, he died from pulmonary congestion in the freezing temperatures (less than -25C) on the Maginot line on 11 January 1940 aged 54. He had with him two sons during the Second World War. His eldest, Nicolas Ferry, died on the field at the age of 21. After this, Nicolas's sister, Antoinette Ferry, became Sister Nicolas and went to live in a convent in memory of her brother. In 1941 Désiré Ferry's younger son, Gilles Ferry, was captured at a battle near Brest. He then escaped less than a month later by pretending to be a Nazi soldier. He had to work as a German soldier for over seven days before he was able to get away and go back to France, the only man in the family left. Once the war was over, he became a writer and philosopher.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferry, Desire 1886 births 1940 deaths Politicians from Metz Republican Federation politicians Republican Centre politicians Ministers of marine Ministers of health of France Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic 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 Nancy-Université alumni French military personnel of World War I French Army personnel of World War II French military personnel killed in World War II Military personnel from Metz La Liberté (French newspaper) editors