Augustin Alfred Joseph Paul-Boncour (; 4 August 1873 – 28 March 1972) was a French politician and diplomat of the Third Republic. He was a member of the

Republican-Socialist Party The Republican-Socialist Party (french: Parti républicain-socialiste, PRS) was a French socialist political party during the French Third Republic founded in 1911 and dissolved in 1934. Founded by non-Marxist socialists who refused to join ...

(PRS) and served as Prime 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.

Career

Born in Saint-Aignan, Loir-et-Cher, Paul-Boncour received a law degree from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and became active in the labor movement, organizing the legal council of the '' Bourses du Travail'' ( workers' associations). He was private secretary to Premier Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau from 1898 to 1902. Elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

as a Radical in 1909, he held his seat until 1914, briefly serving as Minister of Labour from March to June 1911. After serving in the military during World War I, he returned to the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are kn ...

. Turning to Socialism, he joined the SFIO 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. After his resignation from the SFIO in 1931 he joined the

(PRS), which in 1935 merged with the French Socialist Party (PSF) and the Socialist Party of France-Jean Jaurès Union PSdF) to form the

Socialist Republican Union The Socialist Republican Union (french: Union socialiste républicaine, USR) was a political party in France founded in 1935 during the late Third Republic which united the right-wing of the French Section of the Workers' International with the l ...

(USR). Also in 1931, Paul-Boncour was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and served in that capacity until the establishment of the Vichy 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 the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

from 1932 to 1936, Minister of War in 1932, Premier from December 1932 to January 1933, and

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

on two occasions (December 1932 to January 1934 and March–April 1938). Paul-Boncour was opposed to the formation of the Vichy government, and recommended continuing the fight against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

after the

fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

, from

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

. As a member of the Consultative Assembly from 1944, he led the French delegation to the United Nations conference in San Francisco and signed the ''

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its Organ ...

'' 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.

Paul-Boncour's Ministry, 18 December 1932 – 31 January 1933

*Joseph Paul-Boncour – President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs * Édouard Daladier – Minister of War * Camille Chautemps – Minister of the Interior * Henri Chéron – Minister of Finance *

Albert Dalimier Albert François Marie Dalimier (20 February 1875 – 6 May 1936) was a French politician. Between 1932 and 1934 he was Minister of Labor, Minister of the Colonies (twice) and Minister of Justice in four of the short-lived cabinets of that perio ...

– Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions *

Abel Gardey Abel Gardey (21 November 1882, Margouët-Meymes, Gers Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in Fre ...

– Minister of Justice *

Georges Leygues Georges Leygues (; 29 October 1856 – 2 September 1933) was a French politician of the Third Republic. During his time as Minister of Marine he worked with the navy's chief of staff Henri Salaun in unsuccessful attempts to gain naval re-arm ...

– Minister of Marine * Léon Meyer – Minister of Merchant Marine *

Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé (; 5 December 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French mathematician and statesman. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925. His entry into politic ...

– Minister of Air * Anatole de Monzie – Minister of National Education * Edmond Miellet – Minister of Pensions *

Henri Queuille Henri Queuille (; 31 March 1884 – 15 June 1970) was a French Radical politician prominent in the Third and Fourth Republics. After World War II, he served three times as Prime Minister. Governments First ministry (11 September 1948 – 28 O ...

– Minister of Agriculture *

Albert Sarraut Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic. Biography Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. On 14 March 1907 Sarraut, ...

– Minister of Colonies * Georges Bonnet – Minister of Public Works * Charles Daniélou – Minister of Public Health *

Laurent Eynac Laurent Eynac (4 October 1886 – 16 December 1970) was a French politician who was appointed Minister of Transportation on 7 June 1935 until 24 January 1936. He was born in Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille, Haute-Loire. In 1940 Eynac was appointed M ...

– Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones * Julien Durand – Minister of Commerce and Industry

List of positions held

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul-Boncour, Joseph 1873 births 1972 deaths People from Loir-et-Cher Politicians from Centre-Val de Loire Republican-Socialist Party politicians French Section of the Workers' International politicians Socialist Republican Union politicians Prime Ministers of France French Foreign Ministers French Ministers of War French Ministers of War and National Defence State ministers of France Government ministers of France Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French Senators of the Third Republic French Senators of the Fourth Republic Senators of Loir-et-Cher French senators elected by the National Assembly The Vichy 80 20th-century French diplomats French military personnel of World War I