Adrien Tixier (; 31 January 1893 in Folles (

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; , ; Upper Vienne) is a département in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve départements that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The prefecture an ...

) – 18 February 1946 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

who was the Free French ambassador to the United States.

Career

He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the ''école normale'' (teachers' college) at

Châteauroux Châteauroux ( ; ; ) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Châteauroux te ...

and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of

Albi Albi (; ) is a commune in France, commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department, on the river Tarn (river), Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ...

. Active in the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the

International Labour Office The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor

Edgard Milhaud Edgard Milhaud (14 April 1873 – 4 September 1964) was a French professor of economics, a militant socialist, and a promoter and theoretician of social economy. Life Isaac Edgard Milhaud was born on 14 April 1873 in Nîmes, Gard, France. His p ...

, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined

General de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the

Free France Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

in Washington, where he was appreciated by the

Franklin Roosevelt administration For the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States presidential administration from 1933 to 1945, see: * Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1941), first and second terms * Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1941–1945), thi ...

. He served in the

French Committee of National Liberation French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band) ...

of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first Minister of Social Affairs. He was appointed

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with

Robert Lacoste Robert Lacoste (5 July 1898 – 8 March 1989) was a French politician. He was a socialist MP of the Dordogne from 1945 to 1958, and from 1962 to 1967. He then served as senator from 1971 to 1980. Biography Robert Lacoste was born at Azerat ...

, the Minister of Production, during his visit to

Oradour-sur-Glane Oradour-sur-Glane (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, west central France, as well as the name of the main village within the commune. The original village of Oradour-sur-Glane is widely known for having been ...

on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from

Bessines-sur-Gartempe Bessines-sur-Gartempe (, literally ''Bessines on Gartempe''; Limousin: ''Becinas'') is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Geography The river Semme forms part of the commune's north-east ...

, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the

in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles.

References

External links

Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tixier, Adrien 1893 births 1946 deaths People from Haute-Vienne French Section of the Workers' International politicians French interior ministers Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) Members of Parliament for Haute-Vienne French military personnel of World War I French expatriates in the United States