Joseph Paul-Boncour | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of France | |
| In office 18 December 1932 – 31 January 1933 | |
| President | Albert Lebrun |
| Preceded by | Édouard Herriot |
| Succeeded by | Édouard Daladier |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1873-08-04)4 August 1873 Saint-Aignan, Loir-et-Cher, France |
| Died | 28 March 1972(1972-03-28) (aged 98) Paris, France |
| Political party | PRS |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Augustin Alfred Joseph Paul-Boncour (French:[ʒozɛfpɔlbɔ̃kuʁ]; 4 August 1873 – 28 March 1972)[1] was a French politician and diplomat of theThird Republic. He was a member of theRepublican-Socialist Party (PRS) and served asPrime Minister of France from December 1932 to January 1933. He also served in a number of other government positions during the 1930s and as a Permanent Delegate to the League of Nations in 1936 during his tenure as Minister of State.
Born inSaint-Aignan, Loir-et-Cher, Paul-Boncour received a law degree from theUniversity of Paris and became active in thelabor movement, organizing the legal council of theBourses du Travail (workers' associations). He was private secretary to PremierPierre Waldeck-Rousseau from 1898 to 1902. Elected to theChamber of Deputies as aRadical in 1909, he held his seat until 1914, briefly serving asMinister of Labour from March to June 1911. After serving in the military during World War I, he returned to theFrench National Assembly.
Turning to Socialism, he joined theSFIO in 1916. Paul-Boncour left the socialist party in 1931 because he considered imperative, in face of the League of Nations progressive powerlessness, to reinforce national defence, something the socialists opposed.[2] After his resignation from the SFIO in 1931 he joined theRepublican-Socialist Party (PRS), which in 1935 merged with theFrench Socialist Party (PSF) and theSocialist Party of France-Jean Jaurès Union (PSdF) to form theSocialist Republican Union (USR). Also in 1931, Paul-Boncour was elected to theSenate, and served in that capacity until the establishment of theVichy régime in 1940 (during World War II).
During his time as a Senator, Paul-Boncour served in a variety of cabinet and diplomatic posts. He was the Permanent Delegate to theLeague of Nations from 1932 to 1936,Minister of War in 1932, Premier from December 1932 to January 1933, andForeign Minister on two occasions (December 1932 to January 1934 and March–April 1938).
Paul-Boncour wasopposed to the formation of the Vichy government, and recommended continuing the fight againstNazi Germany after thefall of France, fromAlgiers. As a member of the Consultative Assembly from 1944, he led the French delegation to theUnited Nations conference in San Francisco and signed theUnited Nations Charter on behalf of France. He once again served as a senator from 1946 to 1948.
He died in Paris on 28 March 1972 at the age of 98.[3]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Labour and Social Security 1911 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of War 1932 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Council 1932–1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1932–1934 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of National Defense and War 1934 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1938 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by – | Minister of State, Permanent Delegate to the League of Nations 1936 | Succeeded by – |
| Records | ||
| Preceded by | Oldest living state leader 14 August 1969 – 28 March 1972 | Succeeded by |
Media related toJoseph Paul-Boncour at Wikimedia Commons
