Eugène Guérin (; 27 July 1849 - 25 April 1929) was a French politician who served twice as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and served as a member of the

French Senate The Senate (, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. It is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' and ...

for

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

for nearly 30 years.

Early life

Guérin was born on 27 July 1849 in

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to Pierre Barthélemy Guérin (1808-1868) and Rose Dupuy (1815-1855). He studied in

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

before enrolling at the

Faculty of Law of Paris The Faculty of Law of Paris (), called from the late 1950s to 1970 the Faculty of Law and Economics of Paris, is the second-oldest faculty of law in the world and one of the four and eventually five faculties of the University of Paris ("the S ...

. His studies however were interrupted by the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870. Guérin temporarily halted his studies and joined the Vaucluse mobiles, seeing action at the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

and during the Eastern campaigns of the war. Following the end of the war in 1871, Guérin resumed his studies and graduated that same year with a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in law. Guérin was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

in 1875. He married Césarée Madeleine Marie Thérèse Pascal (1859-1936) on 20 October 1880 in

Aubagne Aubagne (; according to the classic norm or according to the Mistralian norm) is a Commune in France, commune in the southern French Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2020, the commune was awarded three flowers by the ...

. The couple went on to have seven children.

Career

Guérin first ran for office in the

municipal elections in 1875, succeeding in being elected municipal councillor and even becoming

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

. Guérin later served as Mayor of

from October 1881 to December 1886. Following the

resignation Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Alfred Joseph Naquet in 1890, the position of Senator for

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

was now up for grabs in the upcoming

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. Guérin ran for the senate seat and won the election on 1 June 1890, being confirmed as a Senator after winning again in the general election on 4 January 1891. During his time in the senate, Guérin was promoted to the position of secretary of the Senate from 1892 to 1893. He resigned as secretary following his appointment by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Charles Dupuy Charles Alexandre Dupuy (; 5 November 1851 – 23 July 1923) was a French statesman, three times prime minister. Biography He was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire, Auvergne, where his father was a minor official. After a period as a prof ...

to be

and

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in April 1893. He held this position until December 1893, before being reinstated as Justice Minister during the second cabinet of

in May 1894. It was during Guérin's second mandate that the Dreyfus affair occurred shortly before the end of his term in January 1895 Guérin ran for re-election to the Senate in 1900 and won his bid on 23 January 1900. During this Senate term, Guérin was named Vice President of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1905 to 1908. Guérin won re-election again on 3 January 1909, but lost his next re-election bid on 11 January 1920.

Later life and death

Following his election defeat in 1920, Guérin retired from politics. He died in the 16th arrondissement of

on 25 April 1929, aged 79.

References

{{Minister of Justice (France) 1849 births 1929 deaths Politicians from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Ministers of justice of France Radical Party (France) politicians French senators of the Third Republic People from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Senators of Vaucluse People from Carpentras 20th-century French politicians 20th-century French lawyers 19th-century French politicians 19th-century French lawyers People associated with the Dreyfus affair Government of France