René Jean Pleven (; 15 April 190113 January 1993) was a notable political figure of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

and Fourth Republic. An early associate of Jean Monnet then member of the Free French led by

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

, he took a leading role in colonial and financial matters including the Gaullist takeover of French Equatorial Africa in 1940, the creation of the Caisse Centrale de la France Libre in 1941, the Brazzaville Conference in 1944, and the

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...

of the largest French banks in 1945. In 1946, Pleven broke with De Gaulle and helped found the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR), a political party that was meant to be a successor to the wartime Resistance movement. He served as prime minister twice in the early 1950s and is remembered for the Pleven Plan for a European Defence Community, which he proposed in October 1950 in coordination with Monnet.

Early life

René Pleven was born in

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

on 15 April 1901 as the son of a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

and director of studies at the Special Military School of St. Cyr.René Pleven
'' DHM''. After studying law at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, he failed the exam for the financial corps of the civil service, so he decided to move to the United States, Canada, and Great Britain to work there. He rose to become a telephone company executive. In 1924, he married Anne Bompard.Lambert, Bruce: "Rene Pleven, 91, Prime Minister of France Twice in Early 1950s". ''The New York Times''. 20 January 1993.

Wartime

Immediately after the breakout of the Second World War, he was in charge of encouraging the construction of aircraft for the Allies in the United States and of purchasing planes for France. As late as 1939, Pleven stated that "Politics do not interest me,"Pour la France
''Time''. but then a year later, he joined

's Free French Forces, which resisted the Nazi-allied French Vichy Regime. Pleven suggested a political union between Britain and France, with a unification of sovereignty and defensive forces. The plan, supported by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, Paul Reynaud and

was not approved due to the opposition of the French armistice with Germany. Pleven helped rally support for Free France in French Equatorial Africa. Returning to London, where de Gaulle and his forces were exiled, in 1941, he became national commissioner for the economy, finance, the colonies and foreign affairs of the French National Committee. In this role, he presided over a 1944 conference in Brazzaville, which opted for a more liberal policy towards the colonies.

Postwar years

After France's liberation, he was the Minister of the Economy and Finance in the provisional government. After the war, Pleven was elected a legislator from the Côtes-du-Nord department. In 1946, he broke with Charles de Gaulle and founded the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR) serving as the party's president from 1946 to 1953. The party was positioned between the Radical Socialists and the Socialists, favoring limited industrial

and state controls. He then held several Cabinet posts, most notably Defense Minister from 1949 to 1950. In July 1950 he became the country's Prime Minister, as power was shifting to the right. A passionate supporter of European integration, he pushed the ratification of the Schuman Plan for European integration creating the

European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism which would be governe ...

as Prime Minister. He had to face opposition from both left and right to push it through, but he collected enough votes in parliament by promising to increase farm loans and to lower taxes for low-income groups. After three days and two nights of debate, the treaty was ratified. He served until February 1951 and then again from August 1951 to January 1952, resigning over disagreements about budget deficits. He then became Defense Minister again. His proposal for a European Defense Community, in which to integrate a re-armed Germany, known as the Pleven Plan, was defeated by the Gaullists, communists, and socialists. He also advocated a hard hand in defending French colonial rule in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

. In 1953, he resigned as chairman of the UDSR after his party supported the Vietnam peace talks. Being Minister of Defense from 1952 to 1954, he was responsible when the French lost the Battle of Dien Bien Phu initiating the crumbling of French hegemony in the whole region. In 1957, President

René Coty Gustave Jules René Coty (; 20 March 188222 November 1962) was President of France from 1954 to 1959. He was the second and last president of the Fourth French Republic. Early life and politics René Coty was born in Le Havre and studied at th ...

offered him the opportunity to become Prime Minister again, but he turned it down.The Little Plum
''Time''. 10 June 1957. Instead, he became the Fourth Republic's last Foreign Minister in 1958. In 1966, Pleven's wife died. He had had two daughters, Françoise and Nicole, with her. From 1969 to 1973, he served as Minister of Justice in the governments of Jacques Chaban-Delmas and Pierre Messmer, signing the pardon of notorious escapee Henri Charrière in 1970. Losing re-election as legislator in 1973, he became president of a regional development council in his native

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. He died of heart failure on 13 January 1993 at the age of 91.

Governments

First ministry (12 July 1950 – 10 March 1951)

*René Pleven – President of the Council *

Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 1886 – 4 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born France, French statesman. Schuman was a Christian democrat, Christian democratic (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. ...

– Minister of Foreign Affairs * Guy Mollet – Minister for the Council of Europe * Jules Moch – Minister of National Defense * Henri Queuille – Minister of the Interior * Maurice Petsche – Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs * Edgar Faure – Minister of Budget * Jean-Marie Louvel – Minister of Commerce and Industry * Paul Bacon – Minister of Labour and Social Security * René Mayer – Minister of Justice * Gaston Defferre – Minister of Merchant Marine * Pierre-Olivier Lapie – Minister of National Education * Louis Jacquinot – Minister of Veterans and War Victims * Pierre Pflimlin – Minister of Agriculture * François Mitterrand – Minister of Overseas France * Antoine Pinay – Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism * Pierre Schneiter – Minister of Public Health and Population * Eugène Claudius-Petit – Minister of Reconstruction and Town Planning * Charles Brune – Minister of Posts * Albert Gazier – Minister of Information * Jean Letourneau – Minister of Relations with Partner States * Paul Giacobbi – Minister without Portfolio

Second Ministry (11 August 1951 – 20 January 1952)

*René Pleven – President of the Council * Georges Bidault – Vice President of the Council and Minister of National Defense * René Mayer – Vice President of the Council and Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs *

– Minister of Foreign Affairs * Charles Brune – Minister of the Interior * Pierre Courant – Minister of Budget * Jean-Marie Louvel – Minister of Industry * Paul Bacon – Minister of Labour and Social Security * Edgar Faure – Minister of Justice * André Morice – Minister of Merchant Marine * André Marie – Minister of National Education * Emmanuel Temple – Minister of Veterans and War Victims * Paul Antier – Minister of Agriculture * Louis Jacquinot – Minister of Overseas France * Antoine Pinay – Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism * Paul Ribeyre – Minister of Public Health and Population * Eugène Claudius-Petit – Minister of Reconstruction and Town Planning * Joseph Laniel – Minister of Posts * Robert Buron – Minister of Information * Pierre Pflimlin – Minister of Commerce and External Economic Relations * Jean Letourneau – Minister of State * Maurice Petsche – Minister of State * Henri Queuille – Minister of State Changes: *16 September 1951 – Minister of State Maurice Petsche dies. *4 October 1951 – Joseph Laniel becomes a Minister of State. Roger Duchet succeeds Laniel as Minister of Posts. *21 November 1951 – Camille Laurens succeeds Antier as Minister of Agriculture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pleven, Rene 1901 births 1993 deaths Politicians from Rennes Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance politicians Democratic Centre (France) politicians Centre Democracy and Progress politicians Prime ministers of France Deputy prime ministers of France Foreign ministers of France Ministers of justice of France Ministers of the overseas of France Finance ministers of France 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 Fourth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth 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 Côtes-d'Armor Presidents of the Regional Council of Brittany Members of the Regional Council of Brittany French general councillors MEPs for France 1958–1979 University of Paris alumni World War II political leaders French people of the Algerian War Companions of the Liberation Commanders of the Ordre du Mérite Maritime Order of Leopold (Belgium) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic