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Alain Savary | |
|---|---|
| Minister of National Education | |
| In office 22 May 1981 – 17 July 1984 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Mauroy |
| Preceded by | Christian Beullac |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Pierre Chevènement |
| First Secretary of the French Socialist Party | |
| In office 17 July 1969 – 16 June 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Guy Mollet |
| Succeeded by | François Mitterrand |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1918-04-25)25 April 1918 Algiers,French Algeria |
| Died | 17 February 1988(1988-02-17) (aged 69) Paris,France |
| Nationality | French |
| Political party | Socialist Party |
| Education | Lycée Buffon |
| Alma mater | École Libre des Sciences Politiques |
Alain Savary (French:[alɛ̃savaʁi]; 25 April 1918 – 17 February 1988) was a French Socialist politician, deputy to theNational Assembly of France during theFourth andFifth Republic, chairman of theSocialist Party (PS) and a government minister in the 1950s and in 1981–1984, when he was appointed byPresidentFrançois Mitterrand asMinister of National Education.[1]
In 1940, as soon as France wasoccupied by the German army, Savary enlisted in theResistance. He organized the rallying ofSaint-Pierre et Miquelon to theFree French Forces and became its governor. After the war, he participated in the restoring of the Republican State.
A member of theFrench Section of the Workers' International (Socialist Party, SFIO) he was deputy forSaint-Pierre et Miquelon throughout most of theFourth Republic, from 1944 to 1946 and from 1951 to 1958. In 1956, he was nominated Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs inGuy Mollet's cabinet, but resigned due to his opposition to the repressive policy of Mollet inAlgerian War (1954–62) and to the arrest ofAhmed Ben Bella. He left the SFIO in 1958, because of the party's support forCharles de Gaulle's comeback and for the newConstitution elaborating a presidential regime (theFifth Republic).
WithPierre Mendès France, he founded the dissidentAutonomous Socialist Party (PSA) which became, in 1960, theUnified Socialist Party (PSU). However, he left it in 1967 and founded theUnion of Clubs for the Renewal of the Left, which joined theFederation of the Democratic and Socialist Left (FGDS) which had supported left-wing candidateFrançois Mitterrand at the1965 presidential election. Then, he returned to the "old socialist house" when it was replaced by theSocialist Party (PS).
Reconciled with Guy Mollet, Savary succeeded him to the leadership of the party in 1969. As First Secretary of the PS, he promised to begin an "ideological dialogue" with theFrench Communist Party (PCF), which was the largest left-wing party in France at the time. He was faced with growing pressure from internal opponents insisted that he remain dependent on Mollet's followers and not to pursue the "renewal" of the party. Two years later, during theÉpinay Congress, he was removed byFrançois Mitterrand, who proposed an alliance with the Communists based on aCommon Program.
Savary became a Deputy forHaute-Garonne in 1973. In 1981 he becameMinister of National Education under President François Mitterrand. As minister of education, Savary appointed a series of charges de missions and study commissions to survey problems and propose possible remedies in a variety of areas: the Jeantet Commission on higher education, the Prost Coommissin on the lycees, the Legrand Commission on the colleges, Bertrand Schwartz on the educational and employment problems of 16- to 18-year-olds, Andre Peretti on training of elementary and secondary school teachers, Jean-Louis Quermonne on the status of teachers in higher education, and Laurent Schwartz and the Commission du Bilan on the educational system as a whole.[2]
In June 1984, Mitterrand decided to withdraw the "Savary Bill" to limit the financing of private schools due to large demonstrations by the supporters of private schools. Savary resigned in July 1984. At the same time the government of Prime MinisterPierre Mauroy was replaced by a new government led byLaurent Fabius.[3]He retired from government at this point and held no further offices prior to his death at age 69.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of National Education 1981–1983 | Succeeded by |
