Eugène Etienne (; 15 December 1844 – 13 May 1921) was a French politician who was a deputy from 1881 to 1919, Undersecretary of Colonies in 1887 and again from 1889 to 1892, Minister of War in 1913, and a Senator from 1920 until his death. He was known as a defender of French Algeria and a promoter of colonial expansion.

Life

Etienne was born in

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

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 ...

. He was employed at the Messageries Maritimes and supported Gambetta in his election of 1869, even before the fall of the Second Empire. He was close to Émile Bouchet, a radical deputy. In 1878 he was appointed inspector of railways. In 1879, he founded a law firm with Émile Bouchet and Jules Blancsubé. He was a Member of 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 ...

from 1881 to 1919 and a Senator from 1920 to 1921. Due to a combination of his upbringing in Algeria, his mentorship by Gambetta and his own business interests, Etienne would be a committed empire builder, and during this time, he would be appointed undersecretary of colonies, first in 1887, and again from 1889 to 1892. During his time in the role, he would enthusiastically support French exploration of Africa whilst working to build the resources of the undersecretariat, giving the world "the impression that from the bulge of the

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, everything was reserved for France.". By the time he left the role, his authority and influence had to extended to the point where he had gained access to regular meetings by the cabinet, and deputies would refer to the undersecretariat as being a ministry in all but name. He served as

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 21 January 1913 to 9 December 1913 in the governments of

Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...

and

Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the French Third Republic, Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the ...

. Eugène Étienne presided over the Société Gambetta. He was also the leader of the colonial party, the founder and president of the Committee of Asia, the French Africa Committee and the Morocco Committee. An experienced businessman, he was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Compagnie Générale des Omnibus in Paris and a member of the Railway Advisory Committee. Eugène Étienne was appointed to the board of the

Tréfileries et Laminoirs du Havre The Tréfileries et Laminoirs du Havre (TLH: Le Havre Wire-Drawing and Rolling Mills) was an enterprise based in Le Havre, France, that manufactured copper wire, other copper products and products of other metals including bronze and aluminum. It ...

(TLH) in 1911, left this position when he became Minister of War in January 1913, then rejoined the board the next year and became president until his death in 1921. He felt that the future of TLH lay in developing the railways and ports of the colonial empire. As the leader of the Colonial group in the chamber of deputies, he agitated for the expansion of railway lines in the colonies. Étienne was linked to Robert Pinot of the

Comité des forges The Comité des forges (, ''Foundry Committee'') was an organization of leaders of the French iron and steel industry from 1864 to 1940, when it was dissolved by the Vichy government. It typically took a protectionist attitude on trade issues, and ...

. He was elected senator from Oran on 11 January 1920. He is buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery (94th Division).

Awards

By a decree of August 15, 1907, Ernest Roume, the Governor General of French West Africa (AOF), named the Port of Levrier (Mauritania), "Port Etienne", today Nouadhibou . The commune of Hennaya, currently in the wilaya of Tlemcen (Algeria), was renamed in 1922 "Eugène-Étienne". It was a colonization center created in 1851 by General Bugeaud. The municipality will keep this name until 1962 before returning to Hennaya. A stele, installed on the Place du Petit Vichy, in the center of Oran, bears the mention "to Eugene Etienne, Oran grateful." One of the great roads of Oran was called Rue Eugene Etienne; It now bears the name of Mohamed Baghdadi; In Tlemcen, the rue Eugène Etienne became rue Commandant Djaber.

Works

*Eugène Étienne, ''Les Compagnies de colonisation'', A. Challamel, 1897

References

Sources

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External links