Christian Fouchet (17 November 1911 – 11 August 1974) was a French politician.

Biography

He was born in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Ecole des sciences politiques. After Marshal Petain's request for an armistice with

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 ...

on 17 June 1940, Fouchet boarded a London-bound British airplane to offer his services to General Charles de Gaulle and the

Free French forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

. His missions primarily involved liaison work between the Free French in London and the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

in France. Fouchet received his first diplomatic assignment in 1944, when he was made a secretary of the French embassy in Moscow. In 1945 he represented de Gaulle's provisional government in Poland. He subsequently served as Consul General in India until 1947. In 1954 Fouchet began a two-year term as Minister for Moroccan and Tunisian Affairs in the government of

Pierre Mendès France Pierre Isaac Isidore Mendès France (; 11 January 190718 October 1982) was a French politician who served as prime minister of France for eight months from 1954 to 1955. As a member of the Radical Party, he headed a government supported by a co ...

. He was the French ambassador to Denmark from 1958 to 1962. He was the French Minister of National Education from 28 November 1962 to 6 April 1967. He was the last French colonial head of Algeria from 19 March 1962 to 3 July 1962. He was the French Minister of the Interior from 6 April 1967 to 31 May 1968. He is the father of the French novelist

Lorraine Fouchet Lorraine Fouchet is a French writer. Before devoting herself to writing, she was an emergency doctor. She is the author of nineteen novels, including the bestseller ''Entre ciel et Lou'', which won the Prix Ouest and the Prix Breizh. In 2014, she ...

. Fouchet held the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

as a chevalier in 1946 and as a commandeur in 1961, the Croix de Guerre, the Croix de la Valeur Militaire, the Croix of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the

Medal of the Resistance The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...

and the Medal of Free France.

References

1911 births 1974 deaths People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye Politicians from Île-de-France Rally of the French People politicians Union for the New Republic politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians French interior ministers French Ministers of National Education Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 4th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 5th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Ambassadors of France to Denmark Free French military personnel of World War II French people of the Algerian War Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery {{France-politician-stub