Maurice Schumann (; 10 April 1911 – 9 February 1998) was a French politician, journalist, writer, and hero of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

who served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

under

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( ; ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously served as Prime Minister of France under President Charles de Gaulle from 19 ...

from 22 June 1969 to 15 March 1973. Schumann was a member of the Christian democratic

Popular Republican Movement The Popular Republican Movement (, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert Schuman, Paul Coste-Floret, Pierre-Henr ...

. The son of an Alsatian Jewish father and Roman Catholic mother, he studied at the

Lycée Janson-de-Sailly Lycée Janson-de-Sailly is a ''lycée'' located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. The ''lycéens'' of Janson are called ''les jansoniens'' and they usually refer to their high school as Janson, or JdS. It is the biggest academic inst ...

and the

Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV () is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges ('' lycées'') in France. The school educates more ...

. 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 the

he broadcast news reports and commentaries into France on the BBC French Service some 1,000 times in programs such as ''Honneur et Patrie''.Across the Waves: How the United States and France Shaped the International Age of Radio by Derek W Vaillant
/ref> He was called by some the "voice of France". Schumann was subsequently

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

under the

heads of government In the executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

Jacques Chaban-Delmas Jacques Chaban-Delmas (; 7 March 1915 – 10 November 2000) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. He was the Mayor of Bordeaux from 1947 to 1995 and a deputy for the Gironde ''d ...

and

Pierre Messmer Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (; 20 March 191629 August 2007) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under ...

. His role in foreign and European policy was often described with the bon mot that he was “the most European of the Gaullists 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 the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

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 the

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

in March 1973, he resigned as Foreign Minister. Schumann died on 9 February 1998 in Paris, aged 86.

References

External links

Interview about the French nuclear program
for the WGBH series
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schumann, Maurice 1911 births 1998 deaths Politicians from Paris French people of Jewish descent French Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism French Section of the Workers' International politicians Young Republic League politicians Popular Republican Movement politicians Democratic Centre (France) politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Rally for the Republic politicians Foreign ministers of France Members of the Provisional Consultative Assembly Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1946) Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 4th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Nord Vice-presidents of the Senate (France) French senators of the Fifth Republic Senators of Nord (French department) French contract bridge players Lycée Henri-IV alumni Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni University of Paris alumni Members of the Académie Française French people of World War II French people of the First Indochina War French people of the Algerian War Knights of the Legion of Honour Companions of the Liberation Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George