René Pleven | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Pleven in 1950 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister of France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 11 August 1951 – 20 January 1952 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Vincent Auriol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Henri Queuille | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Edgar Faure | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 12 July 1950 – 10 March 1951 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Vincent Auriol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Henri Queuille | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Henri Queuille | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | René Jean Pleven (1901-04-15)15 April 1901 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 13 January 1993(1993-01-13) (aged 91) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | UDSR (1945–58) MRP (1958–66) CD (1966–69) CDP (1969–73) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
René Jean Pleven (French:[ʁənepləvɛ̃]; 15 April 1901 – 13 January 1993) was a notable political figure of theFrench Resistance andFourth Republic. An early associate ofJean Monnet then member of theFree French led byCharles de Gaulle, he took a leading role in colonial and financial matters including the Gaullist takeover ofFrench Equatorial Africa in 1940, the creation of theCaisse Centrale de la France Libre in 1941, theBrazzaville Conference in 1944, and thenationalization of the largest French banks in 1945.
In 1946, Pleven broke with De Gaulle and helped found theDemocratic 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 thePleven Plan for aEuropean Defence Community, which he proposed in October 1950 in coordination with Monnet.
René Pleven was born inRennes on 15 April 1901 as the son of acommissioned officer and director of studies at theSpecial Military School of St. Cyr.[1] After studying law at theUniversity of Paris, 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.[2]
Immediately after the breakout of the Second World War, he was in charge of encouraging the construction of aircraft for theAllies in the United States and of purchasing planes for France.[1] As late as 1939, Pleven stated that "Politics do not interest me,"[3] but then a year later, he joinedCharles de Gaulle'sFree French Forces, which resisted the Nazi-allied FrenchVichy Regime. Pleven suggested a political union between Britain and France, with a unification of sovereignty and defensive forces. The plan, supported byWinston Churchill,Paul Reynaud andCharles de Gaulle was not approved due to the opposition of the French armistice with Germany.[4] Pleven helped rally support for Free France inFrench 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 theFrench National Committee. In this role, he presided overa 1944 conference in Brazzaville, which opted for a more liberal policy towards the colonies.[2]
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 theCôtes-du-Nord department. In 1946, he broke with Charles de Gaulle and founded theDemocratic 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 industrialnationalization 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 theSchuman Plan for European integration creating theEuropean Coal and Steel Community 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.[1][2][3][5]
He then became Defense Minister again. His proposal for aEuropean Defense Community, in which to integrate a re-armed Germany, known as thePleven Plan, was defeated by the Gaullists, communists, and socialists. He also advocated a hard hand in defendingFrench colonial rule inIndochina. 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 theBattle of Dien Bien Phu initiating the crumbling of French hegemony in the whole region.[2] In 1957, PresidentRené Coty offered him the opportunity to become Prime Minister again, but he turned it down.[6] Instead, he became theFourth Republic's last Foreign Minister in 1958.[1]
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 ofJacques Chaban-Delmas andPierre Messmer, signing the pardon of notorious escapeeHenri Charrière in 1970. Losing re-election as legislator in 1973, he became president of a regional development council in his nativeBrittany. He died of heart failure on 13 January 1993 at the age of 91.[2]
Changes:
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by — | Free French Commissioner on Economy and Finances 1941–1942 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by — | Free French Commissioner on the Colonies 1941–1942 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by — | Vice President of the National Committee of the Free French 1942–1943 | Succeeded by — |
| Preceded by | Free French Commissioner for Foreign Affairs 1942–1943 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Free French Commissioner on the Colonies 1942–1944 | Succeeded by — |
| Preceded by | Minister of Colonies 1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Finance 1944–1946 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of National Economy 1945 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of National Defense 1949–1950 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of France 1950–1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by — | Vice President of the Council 1951 With:Guy Mollet andGeorges Bidault | Succeeded by — |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of France 1951–1952 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of National Defense 1952–1954 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1958 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Justice 1969–1973 | Succeeded by |
