Jean Raphaël Adrien René Viviani (; 8 November 18637 September 1925) was a French politician of the Third Republic, who served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

for the first year of World War I. He was born in Sidi Bel Abbès, in

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

. In France he sought to protect the rights of socialists and trade union workers.

Biography

René Viviani was born in Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria, in a family of Italian and French immigrants, the son of Hélène (Barrière) and Édouard Viviani. His parliamentary career began in 1893, when he was elected deputy of the fifth ward in Paris. He retained this office until 1902, when he failed to be reelected, but four years later he was elected deputy of the Department of Creuse. In the same year he entered the cabinet of Georges Clemenceau. At an early age he associated himself with the Socialist party, soon becoming one of its most brilliant orators and prominent leaders. When the party was reorganized in 1904 into the Unified Socialist party, Viviani, like fellow Socialist Aristide Briand, stayed outside, and thenceforth called himself an Independent Socialist. He served as Minister of Public Instruction in the ministry of Gaston Doumergue. Viviani was an antisemite, arguing that "antisemitism is the best form of social struggle". In the spring of 1914 an exceptionally radical chamber was elected, and for a while it seemed that they would be unable to agree upon any one for Premier, but finally, he was appointed prime minister on 13 June 1914, by President

Poincaré Poincaré is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Henri Poincaré Jules Henri Poincaré (, ; ; 29 April 185417 July 1912) was a French mathematician, Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philos ...

. He received a vote of confidence of 370 to 137. The chief issues were the maintenance of the law requiring three years' service in the army and provision for a loan of 1,800,000,000 francs ($360,000,000) for military preparations. Viviani supported both of these measures. During the July Crisis, he was largely dominated by President Poincaré. He retained the premiership for the first year of the First World War, but his tenure was undistinguished. On 26 August 1914 Viviani reorganized his cabinet on a war basis with Alexandre Millerand replacing Adolphe Messimy as Minister of War. Along with President Poincaré and War Minister Millerand he attended a June 1915 meeting of Joffre (Commander-in-Chief) and his Army Group Commanders ( Foch, Castelnau and Dubail), a rare attempt at political oversight at this stage of the war. By autumn 1915 Viviani's government was in trouble following the resignation of Delcassé as Foreign Minister, the unsuccessful western front offensive and the entry of Bulgaria into the war. Although he survived a no confidence vote by 372–9, there were many abstentions. General Gallieni agreed to replace Millerand as Minister of War, but other French politicians refused to join Viviani's government, so he resigned on 27 October 1915. Viviani served as Vice-President of the Council of Ministers (

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

) and Gallieni as War Minister in Aristide Briand's new ministry. In April 1917 Viviani led a mission to the US, which had just entered the war "associated with" the Allies. He was overshadowed by Marshal Joffre, who attracted much more attention from the American press. During Viviani's time as prime minister, a law was adopted in July 1915 providing for special boards to fix such a wage for women employed in home-work in the clothing industry. In May 1919 the Chamber of Deputies finally debated the bill proposed by Paul Dussaussoy in 1906 for limited women's suffrage. Viviani gave an eloquent speech in its support, and the chamber voted in its favour by 344 to 97.

Viviani's First Government, 13 June – 26 August 1914

*René Viviani – President of the Council and

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, ...

* Adolphe Messimy –

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 ...

* Louis Malvy – Minister of the Interior * Joseph Noulens – Minister of Finance * Maurice Couyba – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions * Jean-Baptiste Bienvenu-Martin – Minister of Justice * Armand Gauthier de l'Aude – Minister of Marine * Victor Augagneur – Minister of Public Instruction and

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

. * Fernand David – Minister of Agriculture *Maurice Raynaud – Minister of Colonies * René Renoult – Minister of Public Works * Gaston Thomson – Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs Changes *3 August 1914 – Gaston Doumergue succeeds Viviani as

. succeeds l'Aude as Minister of Marine.

Albert Sarraut Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic. Biography Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. On 14 March 1907 Sarraut ...

succeeds Augagneur as Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts.

Viviani's Second Ministry, 26 August 1914 – 29 October 1915

*René Viviani – President of the Council * Théophile Delcassé – Minister of Foreign Affairs * Alexandre Millerand – Minister of War * Louis Malvy – Minister of the Interior * Alexandre Ribot – Minister of Finance * Jean-Baptiste Bienvenu-Martin – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions * Aristide Briand – Minister of Justice * Victor Augagneur – Minister of Marine *

– Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts * Fernand David – Minister of Agriculture * Gaston Doumergue – Minister of Colonies * Marcel Sembat – Minister of Public Works * Gaston Thomson – Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs * Jules Guesde – Minister without Portfolio Changes *13 October 1915 – Viviani succeeds Delcassé as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Viviani, Rene 1863 births 1925 deaths People from Sidi Bel Abbès People of French Algeria Pieds-noirs French people of Italian descent Republican-Socialist Party politicians Prime ministers of France Deputy prime ministers of France Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 7th 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 French senators of the Third Republic Senators of Creuse French people of World War I

Biography

Viviani's First Government, 13 June – 26 August 1914

Viviani's Second Ministry, 26 August 1914 – 29 October 1915

See also

References

Further reading

External links