Pierre Clément Eugène Pelletan (29 October 1813 – 13 December 1884) was a French writer, journalist and politician.
Born in
Royan
Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; oc, Roian) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Its inhabitants are known as ''Royannais'' and ''Royannaises''. Capi ...
, Charente-Maritime, Eugène Pelletan was an associate of
Lamartine
Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869), was a French author, poet, and statesman who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic and the continuation of the Tricolore as the flag of France. ...
, but refused an appointment to the office in the foreign affairs ministry. Elected deputy in 1863, he joined the opposition to the
Second Empire Second Empire may refer to:
* Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783
* Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396)
* Second French Empire (1852–1870)
** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...
regime. His bright and eloquent speeches won him fame as a brilliant orator. Re-elected in 1869, he protested against the
war with Prussia and became a member of the
Government of National Defense
The Government of National Defense (french: Gouvernement de la Défense nationale) was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the proclam ...
on 4 September 1870. From 31 January to 4 February 1871, Pelletan exercised the duties of public education minister, but he departed for
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
on 6 February.
Elected to the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
in February 1871, he approved the politics of
Thiers and became vice-president of the
Senate in 1879. In 1884, he was elected
senator for life.
He was the father of
Charles Camille Pelletan (1846–1915), French politician and journalist, and also had a daughter Denise Pelletan (d.1902).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelletan, Eugene
1813 births
1884 deaths
People from Charente-Maritime
French life senators
Senators of Bouches-du-Rhône