Maurice Schumann | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Maurice Schumann (1969) | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 22 June 1969 – 15 March 1973 | |
| President | Georges Pompidou |
| Prime Minister | Jacques Chaban-Delmas Pierre Messmer |
| Preceded by | Michel Debré |
| Succeeded by | André Bettencourt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1911-04-10)10 April 1911 16th arrondissement of Paris,France |
| Died | 9 February 1998(1998-02-09) (aged 86) Paris, France |
| Political party | MRP (1944–1967) UDR (1967–1976) RPR (1976–1998) |
| Education | Lycée Janson-de-Sailly Lycée Henri-IV |
| Alma mater | Sorbonne |
Maurice Schumann (French pronunciation:[mɔʁisʃuman]; 10 April 1911 – 9 February 1998) was a French politician, journalist, writer, and hero of theSecond World War who served asMinister of Foreign Affairs underGeorges Pompidou from 22 June 1969 to 15 March 1973. Schumann was a member of the Christian democraticPopular Republican Movement.
The son of anAlsatian Jewish father and Roman Catholic mother, he studied at theLycée Janson-de-Sailly and theLycée Henri-IV. He converted to his mother's faith in 1937. He once said of France's fate when suffering the Allied bombing raids, '....and now we are reduced to the most atrocious fate: to be killed without killing back, to be killed by friends without being able to kill our enemies'. During theSecond World War he broadcast news reports and commentaries into France on the BBC French Service some 1,000 times in programs such asHonneur et Patrie.[1][2] He was called by some the "voice of France".[3]
Schumann was subsequentlyForeign Minister under theheads of governmentJacques Chaban-Delmas andPierre Messmer. His role in foreign and European policy was often described with the bon mot that he was “the most European of theGaullists and the most Gaullist of the Europeans” (le plus européen des gaullistes et le plus gaulliste des européens).
During a meeting of the foreign ministers of theEuropean Community in 1969, he stated France's conditions for Britain joining the community on its third application, i.e. questions of agricultural finance had to be settled first. After narrowly losing his constituency to the Socialist candidate in theparliamentary elections in March 1973, he resigned as Foreign Minister.
Schumann died on 9 February 1998 in Paris, aged 86.[3]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Scientific Research and Atomic and Space Questions 1967–1968 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Social Affairs 1968–1969 | Succeeded by — |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1969–1973 | Succeeded by |
