Frédéric Passy (20 May 182212 June 1912) was a French

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

who was a founding member of several peace societies and the

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

. He was also an author and politician, sitting in 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 until 1889. He was a joint winner of the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

in 1901 for his work in the European peace movement. Born in

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 ...

to a prominent

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Orléanist Orléanist () was a 19th-century French political label originally used by those who supported a constitutional monarchy expressed by the House of Orléans. Due to the radical political changes that occurred during France in the long nineteenth ...

family, Passy was surrounded by military veterans and politicians. After training in law, he worked as an accountant and served in the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

. He soon left this position and began travelling around France giving lectures on economics. Following years of violent conflicts across Europe, Passy joined the peace movement in the 1850s, working with several notable activists and writers to develop journals, articles, and educational

curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

. While sitting in the Chamber of Deputies, Passy developed the Inter-parliamentary Conference (later the

) with British MP

William Randal Cremer Sir William Randal Cremer (18 March 1828 – 22 July 1908) usually known by his middle name "Randal", was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament, a pacifist, and a leading advocate for i ...

. Alongside this, he founded several peace societies: the , the , and the . Passy's work in the peace movement continued into his later years, and in 1901, he was awarded the

alongside

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

founder, Henry Dunant. Passy died in 1912 after a long period of illness and incapacitation. Despite his economic works gaining little traction, his efforts in the peace movement resulted in him being recognised as the " dean of European peace activists". His son, Paul Passy, published a memoir of his life in 1927, and his works are still being republished and translated into English in the 21st Century.

Family and early life

Passy was born in

in 1822 to an aristocratic

family, which had strong ties to

politics. His father, Justin Félix Passy, was a veteran of Waterloo. His paternal grandfather, Louis François Passy, had been (Receiver General of Finance), an important office in the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. His paternal grandmother was Jacquette Pauline Hélène d'Aure, whose brother, the Count d'Aure, was a riding master who fought for France in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

. Passy's mother, Marie Louise Pauline Salleron, was from an aristocratic Parisian family. His maternal great-grandfather, Joseph Salleron, was deputy mayor of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, and his maternal grandfather, Claude Louis Salleron, created a highly-profitable tanning business and was proposed as an officer in the

in 1814. After getting married in 1821, Félix Passy moved into the family home with Claude Louis Salleron. They went into business with each other and Félix eventually became an equal partner. Frédéric Passy's mother died in 1827, and in 1847, Félix married Irma Moricet, his son's widowed mother-in-law.

Early career

From 1846, Passy worked as an accountant in the Conseil de Droit. In 1848, he served in the

. He resigned from his Conseil position in 1849 to start a career as an economist. He was unable to secure a full-time position in education; he refused to swear the mandatory oath of loyalty to French monarch

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, believing his rule to be illegitimate. However, Passy published several books on economics during this time, the majority of them compiled from his lectures at universities in Pau,

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, and

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionliberal economists and reformers: Frédéric Bastiat, Richard Cobden, and

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

. Passy was most impressed by Bastiat, who developed his ideas from Cobden's Anti-Corn Law League. Bastiat held the belief that the

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

and high tax which often accompanied

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

had a largely negative effect on the poor, and Passy further developed these ideas on

class conflict In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

throughout his work. Being raised in a family of military veterans, Passy described in his autobiography how he "might easily have been drawn towards militarism". Instead, the stories about the horrors of the

French conquest of Algeria The French conquest of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Regency of Algiers, and the French consul (representative), consul escalated into a blockade, following which the Jul ...

pushed him to consider the effect that war had upon humanity. Years of violent discontent in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and Austria and Prussia led to calls for a Europe federation from prominent liberals and

socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, ; ; 1809 – 19 January 1865) was a French anarchist, socialist, philosopher, and economist who founded mutualist philosophy and is considered by many to be the "father of anarchism". He was the first person to ca ...

Émile de Girardin Émile de Girardin (; 22 June 180227 April 1881) was a French journalist, publisher and politician. He was the most successful and flamboyant French journalist of the era, presenting himself as a promoter of mass education through mass journalism ...

, Passy, and

Michel Chevalier Michel Chevalier (; 13 January 1806 – 18 November 1879) was a French engineer, statesman, economist and free market liberal. Biography Born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Chevalier studied at the ''École Polytechnique'', obtaining an engineering ...

were all advocates of this idea. In 1859, Passy condemned the idea that military action could be a solution to political issues, suggesting instead that Europe should have a "permanent congress to oversee the general interests of humanity" and an international police force. Recognising the importance of journalism in the fight for peace, he conceived a plan to create a journal devoted to "

pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

propaganda". This led to him working with Edmond Potonié-Pierre on (''The International Mail''), an English/French periodical devoted to the European peace movement. Passy's association with Potonié's (League of Public Good), a liberal and socialist group aimed at attacking monopolies and high taxation, ended when Potonié began to call for a sweeping change in

social policy Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...

. He advocated for the

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...

, a free press, equality of the sexes, the abolition of the death sentence.

League of Peace

Founding the League

In April 1867, the Paris newspaper ''

Le Temps ' (, ) is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. The paper was launched in 1998, formed out of the merger of two other newspapers, and (the former being a merger of two other papers), ...

'' published three letters attacking the actions of the French concerning Luxembourg, the third of which was written by Passy. The letter invited readers to join a "peace league", and was given enthusiastic support by: Henry Richard, secretary of the Peace Society, visited Paris in that year and urged the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

to allow an international peace congress during the 1867 Paris Exposition. The idea was rejected, but the government eventually allowed lectures on the general principles of peace go ahead, with the condition that no questions were asked afterwards. In May 1867, Passy and Chevalier received permission to organize the (International and Permanent League of Peace). It was in the that Passy declared "war on war", believing that liberal economics would bring social change once military spending was eradicated. This differed greatly with the ideas of previous conservatives like Friedrich von Gentz, whose anti-war stance was concerned with maintaining the status quo. On 21 May, Passy delivered a lecture at the (School of Medicine) in Paris, discussing his views on pacifism. He explained that his views were not from a religious or political perspective, but from an economic, moral, and philosophical one. While he did suggest that defensive or independence wars could be "the most noble and magnificent task in life", he strongly condemned wars of conquest and expansion as disadvantageous to a country's wealth and moral character. In the same year, the French Saint-Simonian Charles Lemonnier founded a similarly named League in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. This group was far more political than Passy's, founded on republican views and strongly advocating for the separation of church and state. Passy made efforts to differentiate his from this one, repeating their "anti-revolutionary aims" and avoiding political questions over human rights. Despite struggling to find adequate space for its 600 members, the held a meeting in June 1868 in which Passy gave a speech on the group's "anti-revolutionary" aims:

Franco-Prussian War

The first large conflict to happen during the 's existence was 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. After the Battle of Sedan and capture of Napoleon III, Passy pleaded with the Prussian royalty to remember "that you only made war to defend yourself, not to attack" and stop attacking the French people after the collapse of their government. He returned to Paris and attempted to convince the British and American embassies to provide neutral intervention in the conflict, even considering travelling by

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carri ...

to the Prussian king himself. On the death of his brother-in-law in the Vosges, Passy left Paris once again, disheartened that the could not stop the war.

Opposition

With Passy having adamantly renounced the earlier group, it is understandable that Edmond Potonié was one of the main opponents of the . He believed it not to be a serious peace society due to their vastly-differing opinions on the speed of change: he believed that only rapid societal change would bring about peace, whereas Passy's group advocated a calmer legalistic approach. Other protest against the came from religious groups, with Hyacinthe Loyson being denounced by the right-wing journalist Louis Veuillot as part of a "Protestant front": efforts to recruit more Catholics to the cause largely failed.

Funding

The received monetary support from notable liberals, such as

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...

(who joined on 4 August 1867) and Jean Dollfus. Subscription rates for its 600 members allowed the 's treasury to have six thousand francs in 1868: founding members paid roughly one hundred francs, while associates paid five francs.

The Society of Friends of Peace

After the 's collapse following the Franco-Prussian War, peace activism in Europe gained a rejuvenation after the successful arbitrations between Britain and the United States in Geneva. Daniël van Eyk, Philip Johannes Bachiene, and Samuel Baart de la Faille founded a Dutch group on the ideas behind Passy's in 1871, and

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

lodges began to undertake peace projects. Passy noticed this renewed belief in peace, and in 1872 he began working on reviving the . He explained the two paths which society could take: # A path of war and revenge against

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and 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 ...

to restore Alsace-Lorraine, involving permanent armaments, a standing army, and a world where young men were doomed to a life in the barracks. # A path of peace and law, where arbitration was a fundamental part of European governing and an organized international system would allow the return of "lost provinces" through diplomatic means like

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

s. He was aware that his favoured path, the latter, would not happen immediately or even in the near future, but set about creating a new French peace society to promote arbitration, the (French Society of Friends of Peace). Several other groups considering arbitration and the development of international law appeared during this time, including the (Association for the Reform and the Codification of the Law of the People; later the

International Law Association The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...

) in 1873, which Passy and Henry Richard were involved in. The meetings, involving discussions on ways to reduce friction among different communities, were a way to enhance the conversations that Passy thought important for developing international co-operation.

1878 Paris Exposition

Noticing the growth and popularity of the peace movement, members of the arranged a congress at the 1878 Paris Exposition, however they warned attendees not to raise "unpleasant" and provocative issues. 13 different nations were present among the 150 delegates, although 95 were from France. The congress was held across multiple days, involving a range of talks and speakers: * Adolphe Franck, the French philosopher, opened the congress with an assertion that peace activism was beneficial for society. He argued that while war may previously have benefitted society, through creating communities and spreading culture, it was now nothing more than a cause of destruction and suffering. *Charles Lemonnier reviewed the contributions of previous peace societies and opposed a motion that sought to create a transnational organisation or federation, stating the young age of the movement. The delegates ignored his advice, but he was seemingly correct as it took 13 more years to create such a group. *As leader of the , Passy opposed a resolution which stated that war "enthrones despotism and ... aggravates the condition of the most numerous and poorest classes". He rejected it on the grounds that war was damaging for all members of society, not just the poorest, and that within republics there is no class system. Lemonnier was among those who supported the resolution in the ensuing debate on class and the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

, but the conference sided with Passy's view, refusing to recognise class as a social reality. *Several of the congress's speakers sought to convince it to create a permanent and legal body, including the French publicist Edmond Thiaudière, who argued that transnational representatives sitting in a parliament could work together to undermine the militarists in their countries. Arturo de Marcoartu, the Spanish peace activist, spoke in favour of a worldwide initiative to establish a European parliamentary system that would abolish war between its signatories. The decade following the 1878 congress was a slow one for the , with Charles Richet noting that the meetings often consisted "only of Passy, Thiaudière and imself.

Merging

In 1889, Passy's merged with

Hodgson Pratt Hodgson Pratt (10 January 1824 – 26 February 1907) was an English pacifist who is credited with founding the International Arbitration and Peace Association in 1880. Early life Born at Bath, Somerset on 10 January 1824, he was the eldest of ...

's International Arbitration and Peace Association to form the (French Society for Arbitration between Nations). This new lost its support in the 1890s to other groups, like the (Peace Through Law Association), which had been founded by a group of young Protestants.

Political career

On 28 April 1873, Passy ran for the

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

seat in the

as an independent conservative republican against the radical Édouard Lockroy. Passy lost with 17,000 votes compared to Lockroy's 54,000. However, he was elected to the local council of Seine-et-Oise in 1874 and held the seat for twenty-four years. In 1881, Passy was elected as the Deputy for the

8th arrondissement of Paris The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' (). The ar ...

, beating a Bonapartist candidate. While in the Chamber, Passy continued to promote his views on peace. In October 1883, he led a discussion on the Tonkin campaign, attacking the government's imperialist policy and suggesting that the conflict be subject to

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

. His position was met with ridicule and he left the chamber for an extended period of illness. He returned to the issue in December 1885, denouncing the colonialist actions of France amid the "remote prospect of any commercial results" coming from the conflict. He criticised the government for affording rights to Alsace and Lorraine, but not to Tonkin and other colonies. He often spoke against France's corn duties, and in support of free trade, working alongside Finance Minister Léon Say to promote these free trade beliefs as part of the Association for the Defence of Commercial and Industrial Freedom. None of Passy's initiatives within the chamber received legislative support, but his proposal that the state "take advantage of all favourable occasions to enter into negotiations with other governments to promote the practice of arbitration" was supported by 112 members from across vastly different parties. Passy was re-elected to the Chamber in 1885. He ran again in 1889, and despite increasing his vote share in the weeks building up to the election, lost by 1,717 votes to Marius Martin.

Inter-parliamentary Conference

In 1887, Passy and British MP

petitioned their respective parliaments to support arbitration treaties between their country and the United States. Passy amassed 112 signatures from French parliamentarians, supported in his efforts by Jules Simon and Georges Clemenceau. A year later in November 1888, Cremer led a delegation of nine MPs to meet with twenty-five French Deputies to discuss working together. This meeting formed the first Inter-parliamentary Conference (later the Inter-parliamentary Union) in 1889, attended by prominent politicians like Léon Bourgeois and Jean Jaures, with Passy serving as president

Writing career

Passy contributed to several different political magazines, including the feminist ' (''Review of Social Morale'') and the literary-political ' (''Political and Literary Review''). He published an autobiography in 1909, entitled (''For the Peace: Notes and Documents''). In 1877, Passy was accepted into the (Academy of Moral and Political Sciences) for his works on political economy, and he was elected president of the (French Association for the Advancement of Sciences) in 1881. In his application to the , Passy avoided using the word "peace" and instead wrote:

Peace through education

Passy was aware of the importance of education in achieving peace, encouraging a textbook for nine-to-twelve-year-olds to be written. His group sponsored a prize essay in 1896 for this purpose. Passy and d'Estournelles de Constant worked together on a 1906 educational work, (''Peace and Peace Education''), and in 1909 released an entire curriculum entitled (''Pacifist Teaching Course'').

Nobel Peace Prize

Passy's health had declined in old age, but he was still prominent and popular enough within the peace movement that it was assumed he would win the first

. Public attention around the prize had increased to such a point that Passy was challenged to a duel by a man declaring that "the Nobel Prize does not belong to you", but nothing further came from the incident. In December 1901, Passy was awarded half of the first Nobel Peace Prize, which was split with Henry Dunant, the founder of the

, and each received over 100,000

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

. Being too elderly and ill to attend the ceremony in Christiania (now Oslo), neither Passy or Dunant delivered an acceptance speech. Instead, Passy wrote an article to be released posthumously, criticising

Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( ; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He also m ...

's executors for using his money to create foundations he did not intend, and suggesting that the award could weaken the peace movement by attracting disingenuous money-seekers instead of peace-seekers. The article was published by the peace journal (''Peace Through Law'') in 1926. Despite Passy's objections, Professor of History Sandi E. Cooper notes, the prize money was most likely used to fund his peace activism.

Final years

Passy continued to advocate for peace in his later years. In 1905, he attended the 14th Universal Peace Congress in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

, during rising tensions between France and Germany. He defused tensions in the congress by crossing the floor and shaking hands with German pacifist Ludwig Quidde. A year later, he attended the 15th Universal Peace Congress in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, alongside delegates from across Europe and the United States like Felix Moscheles and

Bertha von Suttner Baroness Bertha Sophie Felicitas von Suttner (; ; 9 June 184321 June 1914) was an Bohemian nobility, Austro-Bohemian noblewoman, Pacifism, pacifist and novelist. In 1905, she became the second female Nobel laureate (after Marie Curie in 1903), th ...

. Recognising the popularity of peace activism, Passy remarked in 1909 that "the influence of these international eace congressesincreases ... from year to year; it becomes more and more evident that they are taken seriously in the highest quarters". Despite Passy's fame, his economic doctrines failed to gather momentum among his countrymen.

Illness and death

In May 1912, celebrations had been prepared for Passy's 90th birthday, but he was unable to attend due to his worsening health. He had intended to give an address at the celebrations, but it was later published in . Addressing his desire to "lessen the evil in the world and increase the good", it ended with the words: Passy spent his last months incapacitated in bed. On 12 June 1912, he died in Paris. His funeral was a simple one without "flowers or pomp", the service being led by his friend, the Protestant pastor Charles Wagner.

Religious and political views

Religion

Passy was born into a Catholic family, regularly attending

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

and making friends with Ézy-sur-Eure's priest while living there in the 1850s. In 1870,

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...

issued the , which legitimised

Papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

and solidified his word as divine. Passy could not accept this assertion of authority, and his family switched to a non-denominational, liberal

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

instead. Despite his Catholic background, he was supported by members of different denominations like the Protestant pastor Joseph Martin-Paschoud and Grand Rabbi Lazare Isidor. Passy's son Paul suggested that he may have remained a "liberal Catholic" even after 1870, commenting on his close friendship with the radical Catholic priest Hyacinthe Loyson.

Socialism

While acknowledging their attendance at peace congresses, Passy disagreed with the violence that often accompanied the

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

, considering it to be a hindrance to peace-seeking efforts. However, he did agree that socialists had "some points, some very legitimate aspirations, that we would be wrong not to take into account". In 1894, the Universal Peace Congress in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

considered the ways in which members of the labour movement might be further involved with the peace movement, but Passy argued against such a co-operation. He denied any difference between social classes in a free and democratic society, and suggested that members of the labour movement join already-existing peace societies, instead of creating new society-aligned entities.

Military service

Despite serving in the National Guard, Passy disapproved of the idea of garrison life, believing that it led to laziness, gambling, and promiscuity. Instead, he suggested that the citizen-soldier would be a better idea: Instead of being removed from society, they would be allowed to develop the "military virtues" within it. While sitting in the Chamber, Passy advocated for a three-year obligatory term of service for all French citizens, but suggested that those adding to "the intellectual grandeur of France" may be allowed a shorter term.

Disarmament

When asked by young peace activists to support disarmament, Passy responded that: He argued that it was impossible to disarm countries without first putting in place institutions that promoted international co-operation and arbitration.

Apoliticism

Like his non-denominational religious views, Passy was seemingly

apolitical Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased p ...

. He sat as an independent conservative republican, yet spoke often in support of

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

policies like

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

economics. In August 1898,

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...

published a

rescript A rescript is a public government document. More formally, it is a document issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response to a question (usually legal) posed to the author. The word originates from replies issued by Roman emperors t ...

which called for an international conference to discuss a peace agenda. Passy saw this as proof that his neutral and apolitical brand of peacekeeping had worked, believing that leaders would see the negatives of an "infinite

arms race An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more State (polity), states to have superior armed forces, concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and ...

" and work together across country lines.

Marriage and issue

In 1847, Passy married the wealthy Marie Blanche Sageret (1827–1900), the daughter of Jules Sageret and Marie Florence Irma Moricet. Their first son, Paul, was born in 1859. He became a famous

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, known for founding the International Phonetic Association. Passy's progressive views on European culture were influential towards his parenting: his son Paul learnt four languages as a child, yet never attended school. Another son, Jean, was born in 1866: he also became a linguist and preceded his brother as Secretary of the IPA. Passy and Sageret also had a daughter called Marie Louise, whose husband Louis André Paulian was in charge of the Chamber of Deputies's

stenographic Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''st ...

bureau. On 17 February 1912, Mathilde Paulian, the 20-year-old daughter of Marie and Louis, climbed over the railings of the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

observation deck and fell to her death, apparently upset over the ill health of her grandfather (Passy) and sister. Alix, another daughter of Passy and Sageret, married Charles Mortet, an officer in the

Legion of Honour 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 ...

In 1856, Passy acquired the estate in Chambourcy from Jean-François Bayard. A relative called Pierre Passy lived there in 1923, and the family owned the house until 1949.

Family tree

Legacy

Passy's brand of peace through arbitration and international co-operation continued long after his death, with activists lobbying for formalised treaties over "the rights of foreign visitors, joint access to waterways, settlement of territorial disputes". In his will, Passy expressed his independent and peaceful nature, writing: In 1927, his son Paul published a memoir of his father's life entitled . Several roads have been named after Passy, such as those in Nice,

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

, and

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

. In March 2004, the

Inter-parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

acknowledged Passy's effort in its creation and inaugurated the Frédéric Passy Archive Centre in Paris.

Selected works

Books

Articles

Awards and honours

(1895) *

(1901) * Legion of Honour – Commander (1903)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Passy, Frédéric 1822 births 1912 deaths Commanders of the Legion of Honour French Christian pacifists French economists French Nobel laureates Inter-Parliamentary Union Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Nobel Peace Prize laureates Opportunist Republicans Passy family Politicians from Paris

Family and early life

Early career

League of Peace

Founding the League

Franco-Prussian War

Opposition

Funding

The Society of Friends of Peace

1878 Paris Exposition

Merging

Political career

Inter-parliamentary Conference

Writing career

Peace through education

Nobel Peace Prize

Final years

Illness and death

Religious and political views

Religion

Socialism

Military service

Disarmament

Apoliticism

Marriage and issue

Family tree

Legacy

Selected works

Books

Articles

Awards and honours

See also

References

External links