Henri Gabriel Guist'hau (15 September 1863, Saint-Pierre,

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

– 27 November 1931,

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

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 ...

) was a French politician. Guist'hau left Réunion for Nantes to study law there, and was elected to be

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Nantes in 1908. He went on to become a deputy of the

Assemblée nationale The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known as () or deputies. There are 577 , each elected by ...

from 1910 to 1924. He was

minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Ministry of Public Instruction and the leadership post Minister of Public Instruction may refer to historical names of the following government bodies: * Ministry of National Education (France) * Ministry of Public Education (Italy) ** Minister of ...

in 1912, minister of Commerce and Industry in 1913, and finally, minister of the Navy in 1921. As minister of the Navy, he oversaw the reconstruction of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

, after the ravages of 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 was elevated to Officer of the

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 ...

in 1924. culture.gouv.fr : certificate of the legion of honor (Fr)
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References

1863 births 1931 deaths People from Saint-Pierre, Réunion Radical Party (France) politicians Democratic Republican Alliance politicians Ministers of national education of France Ministers of commerce and industry of France Ministers of marine Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Mayors of Nantes Officers of the Legion of Honour {{Réunion-bio-stub