René Marie Goblet (; 26 November 1828 – 13 September 1905) was a French politician,
Prime Minister of France
The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers.
The prime ...
for a period in 1886–1887.
Biography
He was born at
Aire-sur-la-Lys, Pas-de-Calais and was trained in law. Under the
Second Empire, he helped found a Liberal journal, ''Le Progrès de la Somme'', and in July 1871 he was sent by the ''département'' of the
Somme to the National Assembly, where he took his place on the extreme
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relativ ...
, as a member of the
Republican Union parliamentary group (''Union républicaine''). Having failed to secure election in 1876, he was returned for
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
the following year. He held a minor government office in 1879, and in 1882 became minister of the interior in the Freycinet cabinet.
He was minister of education, fine arts and religion in
Henri Brisson's first cabinet in 1885, and again under Freycinet in 1886, when he greatly increased his reputation by an able defence of the government's education proposals.
Meanwhile, his independence and outspokenness had alienated him from many of his party, and throughout his life he was frequently in conflict with his political associates, from
Léon Gambetta
Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government.
Early life and education
Born in Cahors, ...
downwards. On the fall of the
Freycinet cabinet in December he formed a cabinet in which be reserved for himself the portfolios of the interior and of religion. The Goblet cabinet was unpopular from the outset, and it was with difficulty that anybody could be found to accept the ministry of foreign affairs, which was finally given to
Gustave Flourens.
Then came what is known as the
Schnaebele incident, the arrest on the German frontier of a French official named Schnaebele, which caused immense excitement in France. For some days Goblet took no definite decision, but left Flourens, who stood for peace, to fight it out with
General Boulanger, the minister of war, who urged the despatch of an ultimatum. Although he finally intervened on the side of Flourens, and peace was preserved, his weakness in the face of Boulangist propaganda became a national danger.
Defeated on the budget in May 1887, his government resigned; but he returned to office next year as foreign minister in the radical administration of
Charles Floquet.
He was defeated at the polls by a Boulangist candidate in 1889, and sat in the senate from 1891 to 1893 when he returned to the popular chamber. In association with
Édouard Locroy,
Ferdinand Sarrien and
Paul Peytral he drew up a republican programme which they put forward in ''La Petite République française''. At the elections of 1898 he was defeated, and from then on took little part in public affairs. He died in Paris.
References
*
Goblet's Ministry, 16 December 1886 – 30 May 1887
*René Goblet –
President of the Council,
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 ...
, and Minister of Worship
*
Émile Flourens –
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
*
Georges Boulanger –
Minister of War
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
*
Albert Dauphin –
Minister of Finance
*
Ferdinand Sarrien –
Minister of Justice
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 ...
*
Théophile Aube –
Minister of Marine and Colonies
*
Marcellin Berthelot –
Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
*
Jules Develle – Minister of Agriculture
*
Édouard Millaud – Minister of Public Works
*
Félix Granet – Minister of Posts and Telegraphs
*
Édouard Lockroy – Minister of Commerce and Industry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goblet, Rene
1828 births
1905 deaths
People from Aire-sur-la-Lys
Politicians from Hauts-de-France
Republican Union (France) politicians
Prime ministers of France
French interior ministers
Ministers of national education of France
Foreign ministers of France
Members of the National Assembly (1871)
Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
French senators of the Third Republic
Senators of Seine (department)
Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
19th-century French lawyers