Raoul Adolphe Péret (; 29 November 1870 – 22 July 1942) was a French lawyer and politician.

Biography

Raoul Péret was born in

Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; ) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the residents are cal ...

( Vienne), son of a magistrate. He followed his father into the law, becoming an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

at the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. 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 ...

. In 1893 he served as an aide to

Justice Minister 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 ...

Eugène Guérin Eugène Guérin (; 27 July 1849 - 25 April 1929) was a French politician who served twice as Minister of Justice and served as a member of the French Senate for Vaucluse for nearly 30 years. Early life Guérin was born on 27 July 1849 in Carpen ...

. He became a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

in 1895 and served as

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

. He was involved in local politics from 1896, and in 1902 he was elected to 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 ...

, representing Vienne. He became a leading member of the Chamber's Justice committee, and was reelected in 1907 and 1910. He first served in government in

Gaston Doumergue Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue (; 1 August 1863 in Aigues-Vives, Gard18 June 1937 in Aigues-Vives) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1924 to 1931. Tasked with important ministerial portfolios, he was first appo ...

's first administration (1913–1914) as secretary of state to

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

René Renoult. In the reshuffle following the resignation of

Joseph Caillaux Joseph-Marie-Auguste Caillaux (; 30 March 1863 – 22 November 1944) was a French politician of the French Third Republic, Third Republic. He was a leader of the French Radical Party and Minister of Finance, but his progressive views in opposi ...

, Péret became Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts and Telegraphs from 17 March 1914 to 9 June 1914. On the outbreak 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 ...

, Péret was recalled to the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

. He served in administrative posts, but remained active in the Chamber of Deputies. In 1917 he served as Justice Minister in

Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé (; 5 December 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French mathematician and statesman. He served twice as Prime Minister of France, Prime Minister of the French Third Republic, Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 A ...

's short-lived first government. On its fall, he returned to the Chamber where he took over the presidency of the important budget committee. In 1920 he replaced

Paul Deschanel Paul Eugène Louis Deschanel (; 13 February 185528 April 1922) was a French politician who served as President of France from 18 February to 21 September 1920. Biography Paul Deschanel, the son of Émile Deschanel (1819–1904), professor at ...

as President of the Chamber of Deputies when the latter resigned due to ill-health. In 1921 he was asked to form a government by President

Alexandre Millerand Alexandre Millerand (; – ) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1920 to 1924, having previously served as Prime Minister of France earlier in 1920. His participation in Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet at the start of the ...

to replace that of

Georges Leygues Georges Leygues (; 29 October 1856 – 2 September 1933) was a French politician of the Third Republic. During his time as Minister of Marine he worked with the navy's chief of staff Henri Salaun in unsuccessful attempts to gain naval re-arm ...

, but his negotiations were unsuccessful and

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 ...

formed the new government. In 1924 he was replaced as President of the Chamber by Painlevé. Péret returned to ministerial office in 1926, as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in Briand's eighth government. He wished to undertake major financial reforms to meet the growing economic crisis in France, but was unable to find support from his colleagues. His resignation provoked the collapse of Briand's government. In 1927 Péret was elected to 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 ...

. In 1930 he returned to government once more as Minister of Justice on

André Tardieu André Pierre Gabriel Amédée Tardieu (; 22 September 1876 – 15 September 1945) was three times Prime Minister of France (3 November 1929 – 17 February 1930; 2 March – 4 December 1930; 20 February – 10 May 1932) and a dominant figure of ...

's second government. A financial scandal in late 1930 concerning his actions as Minister of Finance in 1926 under Briand, and his connections with the entrepreneur

Albert Oustric Albert Oustric (2 September 1887 – 16 April 1971) was a French entrepreneur and banker. He was the son of a cafe proprietor, and held various jobs before managing to raise capital for a hydroelectric power generation company. He founded a small ...

, led to his resignation, and that of Tardieu's government. Péret was charged, but acquitted in 1931. Although he continued to serve in the Senate for some years afterwards, the scandal effectively ended his political career. He died at

Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé (; named for Saint Maudez) is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France, in the high-end eastern inner suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, cent ...

in 1942.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peret, Raoul 1870 births 1942 deaths People from Châtellerault Politicians from Nouvelle-Aquitaine Independent Radical politicians Democratic Republican Alliance politicians Ministers of justice of France Ministers of commerce, industry, posts, and telegraphs of France Finance ministers of France Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (France) Members of the 8th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic 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 Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French senators of the Third Republic French military personnel of World War I Senators of Vienne (department)