Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher (; 17 April 1909 – 9 December 1996) was a French politician who briefly served as

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...

twice, in 1969 and 1974. He held the office ''ad interim'' as President of the Senate following the resignation of Charles de Gaulle and death of

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 was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

. Poher was affiliated with the

Popular Republican Movement The Popular Republican Movement (french: Mouvement Républicain Populaire, 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 Sc ...

(MRP) until 1966 and later with the Democratic Centre (CD) and Centre of Social Democrats (CSD), which he joined in 1976. A native of

Ablon-sur-Seine Ablon-sur-Seine (, literally ''Ablon on Seine'') is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Ablon has been awarded one flower in the ''Concours des villes ...

south of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, Poher was a long-time member the Senate (1946–1948; 1952–1995), where he sat first for

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a p ...

. He also served as

President of the European Parliament President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

from 1966 to 1969. As President of the Senate from 1968 to 1992 and the sole unelected President of France under the Fifth Republic, Poher remains an influential figure of the politics of 20th-century France. A leading candidate in the 1969 presidential election, he was defeated by Pompidou in the second round.

Early career

Poher was born in

, current-day Val-de-Marne, to a family from

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. He graduated from the

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...

and the

Lycée Saint-Louis The lycée Saint-Louis is a highly selective post-secondary school located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, in the Latin Quarter. It is the only public French lycée exclusively dedicated to providing '' classes préparatoires aux grandes ...

and later studied law. On 19 August 1938 he married Henriette Tugler (1907–2004) in

La Baule-Escoublac La Baule-Escoublac (; br, Ar Baol-Skoubleg, ), commonly referred to as La Baule, is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, Pays de la Loire, western France. A century-old seaside resort in southern Brittany with villas, casino, luxury ho ...

, with whom he had two daughters, Marie-Agnès (born 1940) and Marie-Thérèse (1944–2002). His administrative career began in 1938, when he became a junior executive officer at the Ministry of Finance. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was wounded in combat after being sent to the front lines to defend against the

German invasion German invasion may refer to: Pre-1900s * German invasion of Hungary (1063) World War I * German invasion of Belgium (1914) * German invasion of Luxembourg (1914) World War II * Invasion of Poland * German invasion of Belgium (1940) * G ...

. Later, he became a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

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 ...

. In the aftermath of the

Liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany inv ...

, he served in several political positions prior to entering the Senate: chairman at the Ministry of Finance's Liberation Committee (from 20 July 1944); head of Social Services, Ministry of Finance (from 1 January 1945); and Mayor of Ablon-sur-Seine (from 18 May 1945). Alain Poher

He was also General Commissioner for German and Austrian Affairs (1948–1950); Secretary of State for the Budget in the second government of Prime Minister Robert Schuman and first government of Prime Minister Henri Queuille (1948); Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (Navy) in the government of Prime Minister Félix Gaillard (1957–1958); and president of the ''Association des maires de France'' or AMF (1974–1983). A longtime ally and political protégé of Schuman, Poher was reelected to the Senate in 1952, where he remained for over 40 years, until 1995. As a Senator he continued to serve in government (as Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, tasked with the Navy, in the government of Prime Minister Félix Gaillard in the late 1950s), in addition to his duties as mayor of his home town, Ablon-sur-Seine. Like Schuman, he was known for strongly pro-European integration positions; he served as

from 1966 to 1969.

President of the Senate

During his tenure, Poher served with the Gaullist government of Prime Minister

Maurice Couve de Murville Jacques-Maurice Couve de Murville (; 24 January 1907 – 24 December 1999) was a French diplomat and politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1968 and Prime Minister from 1968 to 1969 under the presidency of General de Gaull ...

, Charles de Gaulle's close ally. Some even referred to this period as the first

cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...

. Despite sharp political differences, Poher was widely credited for model cooperation with the government.

Acting President of France

According to the

order of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Constitution of the Fifth Republic The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic , and it replaced the Constitution of the Fourth Republic of 1946 with the exception of the preamble per a Consti ...

, the President of the Senate assumes the nation's presidential powers and duties following the president's death or resignation; the officeholder thus becomes ''ad interim'' head of state until the next early presidential election. Poher's first service as interim president came on 29 April 1969, when Charles de Gaulle resigned. Previously he was one of Charles de Gaulle's most notable political opponents and played a key role in the successful "no" campaign in the final referendum of his presidency. During his interim presidency Poher continued to serve as Senate President. However, he resided during this time in the Élysée Palace as acting president. Initially Poher tried to recruit General

Marie-Pierre Kœnig Marie Joseph Pierre François Kœnig or Koenig (10 October 1898 – 2 September 1970) was a French general during World War II during which he commanded a Free French Brigade at the Battle of Bir Hakeim in North Africa in 1942. He started a pol ...

as a candidate for the presidency and offered him his full support. Kœnig, however, declined to run, citing his poor health and stating that one general should not replace another general as the head of state. After Kœnig's refusal, Poher himself announced his candidacy. Due to favourable polls he was viewed as the strongest opponent of

and the only non-

Gaullist Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle with ...

candidate who had a real opportunity to win the election. The lack of a longstanding party machine nevertheless hurt his chances. During his short term in office Poher's main task was overseeing the incoming election, in which he himself participated. However, during his tenure he took some major initiatives; notably, he fired longtime Charles de Gaulle confidant Jacques Foccart, a Secretary-General for African Affairs as well as, unofficially, the chief of the Gaullist secret services, who returned to the Élysée after Pompidou's election. Poher also ordered the directors of France's state-controlled radio and television networks to keep public media politically neutral and refrain from acting in the interest of any particular party. His successors followed this precedent. He also ordered the redeployment of a large police force in Paris in the wake of the

May 68 Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which h ...

events. His accomplishments helped Poher, previously largely unknown to the public, develop significant popularity during his interim presidency, despite his defeat in the election. He served again as ''ad interim'' head of state in 1974 after Pompidou died in office. This time, however, he did not run for his own term and stepped down after

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...

was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

against François Mitterrand.

Political career

*Interim President of the French Republic: 28 April – 20 June 1969, 2 April – 27 May 1974 Government functions *Secretary of State for the Budget: 5 September – 20 November 1948 *Secretary of State for the Navy: 11 November 1957 – 14 May 1958 Electoral mandates ''European Parliament'' *President of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

: 1966–1969 ''Senate'' *Senator for

: 1946–1948, 1952–1995 *President of the

Senate of France The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' a ...

: 1968–1992 ''Local'' *Mayor of

: 1945–1983

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Poher, Alain 1909 births 1996 deaths Deaths in Paris 20th-century heads of state of France Sciences Po alumni Candidates for President of France Democratic Centre (France) MEPs Democratic Centre (France) politicians French Roman Catholics French Senators of the Fourth Republic French Senators of the Fifth Republic Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Lycée Saint-Louis alumni MEPs for France 1958–1979 People from Val-de-Marne Popular Republican Movement politicians Presidents of the European Parliament Presidents of the Senate (France) Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Senators of Seine-et-Oise Senators of Val-de-Marne