Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

François de Menthon (8 January 1900 – 2 June 1984)Autorité BnF
/ref>Munzinger-Archiv
/ref> was a French politician and professor of law.

Early and private life

Menthon was born in Montmirey-la-Ville in Jura. He was a son of an old noble family from

Menthon-Saint-Bernard Menthon-Saint-Bernard (; frp, Menton), commonly referred to simply as Menthon, is a commune on the eastern shore of Lake Annecy in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a populati ...

. He studied law in

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, where he joined Action catholique de la Jeunesse française (ACJF). He also studied in

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 ...

. He was president of ACJF from 1927 to 1930, and was also the founder of the Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne (JOC, a Christian working youth movement). He became a professor of political economy at the

University of Nancy A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. He and his wife Nicole had six sons.

Second World War

He was mobilised at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, becoming a captain in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

. He was severely wounded and captured in June 1940. He spent three months in a hospital in Saint-Dié, but escaped and joined 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 ...

Haute Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is Ann ...

in September 1940. Menthon received

Jean Moulin Jean Pierre Moulin (; 20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a French civil servant and French Resistance, resistant who served as the first President of the National Council of the Resistance during World War II from 27 May 1943 until his death less ...

several times at his family's seat at the Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard. He founded the first resistance cell of the Liberté Resistance movement in Annecy in November 1940, and a second one in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

s shortly afterwards. He also edited the ''Liberté'' underground newspaper, with the first two editions printed in Annecy and later ones in Marseilles. He was a leader in the Combat Resistance movement, created by the merger of Liberté with

Henri Frenay Henri Frenay Sandoval (1905–1988) was a French military officer and French Resistance member. He was born in Lyon, France, on 11 November 1905, into a Catholic family with a military tradition. He studied the Germanic languages at the Universit ...

's Mouvement de Libération Nationale towards the end of 1941. Menthon was captured returning from a meeting with Frenay, and interrogated at Baumettes prison in Marseilles, but he was released. He left France in July 1943 to join General Charles de Gaulle in London, and followed him to Algiers where Menthon served as Commissioner of Justice in the Comité Français de Libération Nationale (CFLNC) from September 1943 to September 1944. He later became a Companion of the Ordre de la Libération, and was also an Officier of the

Légion d'Honneur 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 ...

and received the Croix de Guerre.

Political career

After 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 ...

, Menthon was

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in de Gaulle's Provisional Government of the French Republic from 10 September 1944 to 8 May 1945, and then became Attorney General of France. He led the Commission d'Épuration to root out collaborators, and oversaw the trials of Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

and other members of the

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

. He came under attack for the zeal with which the purge was prosecuted, and resigned. De Gaulle nominated him as the French lead prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. He gave his opening speech, defining a

crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

as: "crime contre le statut d'être humain motivé par une idéologie qui est un crime contre l'esprit visant à rejeter l'humanité dans la barbarie" ("crime against human laws, motivated by an ideology that is a crime against the spirit, returning humanity to barbarism"). He resigned in January 1946 to take up active politics and was replaced by Auguste Champetier de Ribes. Menthon was a founding member of the Mouvement Républicain Populaire (MRP). His political convictions were founded on humanistic and Christian principles. He served as a député for Savoy in the French

Assemblée Nationale 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 know ...

from 1946 to 1958. He was Minister for the National Economy in Georges Bidault's first ministry, from 24 June to 16 December 1946. He was also involved in European politics, and was president of

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up ...

from 1952 to 1954 (known as the Consultative Assembly until 1974) and was involved in the discussions to choose the design for the

Flag of Europe The Flag of Europe or European Flag consists of twelve golden stars forming a circle on a blue field. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the whole of Europe. Since 1985, the flag has also been ...

. His promising political career was shortened by disagreements with de Gaulle and he returned to his university career at the University of Nancy in 1958. He was mayor of

from 1945 to 1977, and served as chairman of the Association des maires et conseiller général for 22 years. Menthon died in

, in Haute-Savoie.

References

External links

*http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/672.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Menthon, Francois De 1900 births 1984 deaths People from Jura (department) Politicians from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Popular Republican Movement politicians French Ministers of Justice 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 Mayors of places in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Prosecutors of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg 20th-century French lawyers Nancy-Université faculty French Army officers French military personnel of World War II French Resistance members