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Pierre Laval Biography |
Pierre Laval (June 28, 1883 - October 15, 1945) was a French politician and Prime Minister of France under the Vichy government.
He was born in Châteldon and after gaining a degree, he worked as a lawyer, in Paris from 1907. A socialist, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a member of SFIO in 1903. He did not serve in WW I but the period saw a change to his politics as he moved towards the right. He lost the first post-war election, he became mayor of Aubervillers in 1924 and left the socialist party, he was elected to the French Senate in 1927.
Laval was a prominent figure in the 1930s governments. He was frequently in cabinet and was Prime Minister from January 27, 1931 to February 6, 1932 (succeeding André Tardieu) and again from June 7, 1935. During his second stint as Prime Minister in October 1935, together with the British foreign minister, Samuel Hoare, he proposed a solution to the Abyssinia crisis. Leaked to the media in December, the realpolitik Hoare-Laval Pact was widely denounced and Laval was forced to resign on January 22, 1936.
Pierre Laval was TIME magazine's 1931 Man of the Year.
The victory of the Front Populaire in 1936 meant that Laval returned to business. Following the German occupation, his media outlets were prominent in forcing out the existing government and then supporting the new government of Philippe Pétain. On July 12, 1940, Laval became vice-premier.
Laval was enthusiastically pro-Nazi, his demands for a Franco-German military alliance led to him being sacked from the government and arrested in December 13, 1940. The German ambassador in France, Otto Abetz, had him freed and moved to Paris. He was injured in an assassination attempt on August 27, 1941 at a Legion des Volontaires Francais review but recovered and was recalled into the Vichy government on April 18, 1942. This time he became Prime Minister and succeeded Admiral François Darlan as the leading figure in the regime after Pétain himself. Laval was largely blamed for the increase in anti-Jewish activities and the decision to send French workers to Germany through la releve and the later the Service du Travail Obligatoire. The creation of the Vichy Milice, the wartime police, in January, 1943 has also been credited to Laval.
Following the Allied invasion of France, the government moved from Vichy to Belfort and then to Germany and Sigmaringen in August, 1944. In May 1945 Laval fled. He was held in Austria and given over to US forces. On July 30, 1945 he was handed over to the new French government. Accused of collaboration (i.e. treason) and violating state security, he was tried and sentenced to death. After a failed attempt at suicide, he was executed by firing squad at Fresnes prison, near Paris.
Laval's First Government, 27 January 1931 - 14 January 1932
Pierre Laval - President of the Council and Minister of the Interior
Aristide Briand - Minister of Foreign Affairs
André Maginot - Minister of War
Pierre Étienne Flandin - Minister of Finance
François Piétri - Minister of Budget
Adolphe Landry - Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
Léon Bérard - Minister of Justice
Charles Dumont - Minister of Marine
Louis de Chappedelaine - Minister of Merchant Marine
Jacques-Louis Dumesnil - Minister of Air
Mario Roustan - Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
Auguste Champetier de Ribes - Minister of Pensions
André Tardieu - Minister of Agriculture
Paul Reynaud - Minister of Colonies
Maurice Deligne - Minister of Public Works
Camille Blaisot - Minister of Public Health
Charles Guernier - Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones
Louis Rollin - Minister of Commerce and Industry
Laval's Second Government, 14 January - 20 February 1932
Pierre Laval - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
André Tardieu - Minister of War
Pierre Cathala - Minister of the Interior
Pierre Étienne Flandin - Minister of Finance
François Piétri - Minister of Budget
Adolphe Landry - Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
Léon Bérard - Minister of Justice
Charles Dumont - Minister of Marine
Louis de Chappedelaine - Minister of Merchant Marine
Jacques-Louis Dumesnil - Minister of Air
Mario Roustan - Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
Auguste Champetier de Ribes - Minister of Pensions
Achille Fould - Minister of Agriculture
Paul Reynaud - Minister of Colonies
Maurice Deligne - Minister of Public Works
Camille Blaisot - Minister of Public Health
Charles Guernier - Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones
Louis Rollin - Minister of Commerce and Industry
Laval's Third Ministry, 7 June 1935 - 24 January 1936
Pierre Laval - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jean Fabry - Minister of War
Joseph Paganon - Minister of the Interior
Marcel Régnier - Minister of Finance
Ludovic-Oscar Frossard - Minister of Labour
Léon Bérard - Minister of Justice
François Piétri - Minister of Marine
Mario Roustan - Minister of Merchant Marine
Victor Denain - Minister of Air
Philippe Marcombes - Minister of National Education
Henri Maupoil - Minister of Pensions
Pierre Cathala - Minister of Agriculture
Louis Rollin - Minister of Colonies
Laurent Eynac - Minister of Public Works
Louis Lafont - Minister of Public Health and Physical Education
Georges Mandel - Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones
Georges Bonnet - Minister of Commerce and Industry
Édouard Herriot - Minister of State
Louis Marin - Minister of State
Pierre Étienne Flandin - Minister of State
Changes
17 June 1935 - Mario Roustan succeeds Marcombes (d. 13 June) as Minister of National Education. William Bertrand succeeds Roustan as Minister of Merchant Marine.
Laval's Fourth Ministry, 18 April 1942 - 20 August 1944
Pierre Laval - President of the Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the Interior, and Minister of Information
Eugène Bridoux - Minister of War
Pierre Cathala - Minister of Finance and National Economy
Jean Bichelonne - Minister of Industrial Production
Hubert Lagardelle - Minister of Labour
Joseph Barthélemy - Minister of Justice
Gabriel Auphan - Minister of Marine
Jean-François Jannekeyn - Minister of Air
Abel Bonnard - Minister of National Education
Jacques Le Roy Ladurie - Minister of Agriculture
Max Bonnafous - Minister of Supply
Jules Brévié - Minister of Colonies
Raymond Grasset - Minister of Family and Health
Robert Gibrat - Minister of Communication
Lucien Romier - Minister of State
Changes
11 September 1942 - Max Bonnafous succeeds Le Roy Ladurie as Minister of Agriculture, remaining also Minister of Supply
18 November 1942 - Jean-Charles Abrial succeeds Auphan as Minister of Marine. Jean Bichelonne succeeds Gibrat as Minister of Communication, remaining also Minister of Industrial Production.
26 March 1943 - Maurice Gabolde succeeds Barthélemy as Minister of Justice. Henri Bléhaut succeeds Abrial as Minister of Marine and Brévié as Minister of Colonies.
21 November 1943 - Jean Bichelonne succeeds Lagardelle as Minister of Labour, remaining also Minister of Industrial Production and Communication.
31 December 1943 - Minister of State Lucien Romier resigns from the government.
6 January 1944 - Pierre Cathala succeeds Bonnafous as Minister of Agriculture and Supply, remaining also Minister of Finance and National Economy.
3 March 1944 - The office of Minister of Supply is abolished. Pierre Cathala remains Minister of Finance, National Economy, and Agriculture.
16 March 1944 - Marcel Déat succeeds Bichelonne as Minister of Labour and National Solidarity. Bichelonne remains Minister of Industrial Production and Communication. |
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