Jacques Fonlupt, known as Jacques Fonlupt-Espéraber, was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

politician, born on April 30, 1886, in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

(

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...

) and died on December 4, 1980, in Pau (

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

Biography

Jacques Fonlupt was the son of Antoine Fonlupt, an Auvergne-based merchant, and Marie-Louise Busch. After beginning his career as a lawyer in Brest, he married Henriette Esperaber, an associate jurist he met through the

Le Sillon ("The Furrow" or "The Path") was a French political and religious movement founded by Marc Sangnier (1873–1950), which existed from 1894 to 1910. It aimed to bring Catholicism into a greater conformity with French Republican and socialist ideal ...

movement, on September 17, 1908, in Sauveterre-de-Béarn. Following their marriage, he adopted her name alongside his own. A

French Democratic Confederation of Labour The French Democratic Confederation of Labour (, CFDT) is a national trade union center, one of the five major French confederations of trade unions, led since 2023 by . It is the second largest French trade union confederation by number of memb ...

activist, Fonlupt served as a lawyer for

Pierre Mendès France Pierre Isaac Isidore Mendès France (; 11 January 190718 October 1982) was a French politician who served as prime minister of France for eight months from 1954 to 1955. As a member of the Radical Party, he headed a government supported by a c ...

during

World War II 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 ...

. In 1943, under the

National Council of the Resistance The National Council of the Resistance (; CNR; also, National Resistance Council) directed and coordinated the different movements of the French Resistance during World War II: the press, trade unions and political parties hostile to the Vichy ...

, he was appointed regional prefect for Alsace. However, his opposition to Strasbourg mayor Charles Frey—against whom he regularly ran in elections—prevented him from being appointed as the regional commissioner of the Republic after the

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

. Instead, the

Provisional Government of the French Republic The Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR; , GPRF) was the provisional government of Free France between 3 June 1944 and 27 October 1946, following the liberation of continental France after Operations ''Overlord'' and ''Drago ...

assigned this role to fellow Christian democrat

Charles Blondel Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, while Fonlupt became the prefect of

. Blondel described him as follows: "Mr. Fonlupt possesses great qualities of heart and intellect. He knows Alsace very well and has a broad legal background. However, he struggles with being subordinate and has a taste for personal power, which complicates both his tasks and those of his superiors." Fonlupt represented the MRP as a deputy for Haut-Rhin from 1945 to 1955. He also engaged in the France-Algérie Association. In 1947, he gained prominence as the parliamentary rapporteur for the draft law on the Algerian Statute. He was the father-in-law of

Pierre-Henri Teitgen Pierre-Henri Teitgen (29 May 1908 – 6 April 1997) was a French lawyer, professor and politician.Johnson, Douglas (9 April 1997) ''The Independent''. Retrieved 21 January 2016 Teitgen was born in Rennes, Brittany. Taken POW in 1940, he played ...

through the latter's marriage to his daughter Jeanne. He is referenced in Aimé Cesaire's Discourse on Colonialism, in which Cesaire sardonically notes that "Fontlup-Esperaber, who starches his mustache with it lood the walrus mustache of an ancient Gaul," alluding to his role in French colonial violence.

Publications

''Alsace et Lorraine, hier, aujourd'hui, demain'', Bloud et Gay, 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonlupt-Espéraber, Jacques 1886 births 1980 deaths People from Mulhouse Members of Parliament for Haut-Rhin French Resistance members Prefects of Haut-Rhin French Democratic Confederation of Labour members Popular Republican Movement politicians Members of the National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Commissioners of the Republic