René Marie Alphonse Charles Capitant (19 August 1901 in

La Tronche La Tronche () is a commune in the Isère department, Southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).

Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

– 23 May 1970 in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

) was a French lawyer and politician. He was the son of a lawyer, Henri Capitant, and attended the

Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV () is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges ('' lycées'') in France. The school educates more ...

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 ...

. He received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree also in Paris. In 1930, he was appointed to the faculty of the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

and became a member of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, an anti-fascist organization of intellectuals. 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 ...

, he was involved in the creation of the resistance movement ''Combat'' in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

. He had to leave the country and became a law professor at the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers 1 (), commonly called Benyoucef Benkhedda, is a public research university based in Algiers, Algeria. Founded in 1909 from the amalgamation of different French colonial educational institutions, it has become the oldes ...

in 1941. 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 ...

, he became the Minister of Public Education in the provisional government. From 1945 to 1951, he was a leftist

Gaullist Gaullism ( ) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withdrew French forces from t ...

member of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...

. In 1946, he founded, with

Louis Vallon Louis Vallon (12 August 1901 – 1 March 1981) was a French politician. Initially a member of the SFIO and the French Socialist Party before World War II, he later became a left-wing Gaullist, a founding member of the Rally of the French People ( ...

, the ''

Union gaulliste Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...

''. He was later to serve as the Secretary General of the

Democratic Union of Labour The Democratic Union of Labor (''Union démocratique du travail'', UDT) was a French political party founded in 1959 for left-wing Gaullists at the beginning of the French Fifth Republic. Initially, it united activists for the independence of Alg ...

. After 1951, he was a law professor in Paris and was named director of the Franco-Japanese House in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

from 1957 to 1960. He was then re-elected to the National Assembly from 1962 to 1968. He served as the Minister of Justice (''Garde des Sceaux'') in the

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( ; ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously served as Prime Minister of France under President Charles de Gaulle from 19 ...

and

Couve de Murville Jacques-Maurice Couve de Murville (; 24 January 1907 – 24 December 1999) was a French diplomat and politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1968 and Prime Minister from 1968 to 1969 under the presidency of General de Gaul ...

governments from 1968 to 1969.

References

*French Wikipedia article on René Capitant 1901 births 1970 deaths People from La Tronche Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance politicians Rally of the French People politicians Democratic Union of Labour politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Ministers of justice of France Ministers of national education of France Members of the Provisional Consultative Assembly Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 4th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Bas-Rhin Members of Parliament for Seine Members of Parliament for Paris 20th-century French lawyers Lycée Henri-IV alumni Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg Academic staff of the University of Algiers Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery {{France-law-bio-stub