Joseph-Marie–Auguste Caillaux (; 30 March 1863

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

– 22 November 1944 Mamers) was a French politician of the Third Republic. He was a leader of the French Radical Party and Minister of Finance, but his progressive views in opposition to the military alienated him from conservative elements. He was accused of corruption, but was cleared by a parliamentary commission. This political weakness strengthened the right wing elements in the Radical Party.

Biography

After studying law and following lectures at the

École des Sciences Politiques , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

, he entered the civil service in 1888 as an inspector of finance, and spent most of his official career in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

. Standing as a Republican candidate in the elections of 1898 for the department of the

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

, in opposition to the Duc de la Rochefoucault-Bisaccia, he was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

by 12,929 votes to 11,737. He became

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

in the

Waldeck-Rousseau Pierre Marie René Ernest Waldeck-Rousseau (; 2 December 184610 August 1904) was a French Republican politician who served as the Prime Minister of France. Early life Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau was born in Nantes, Brittany. His father, René Wa ...

Cabinet, and after its fall it was not until the Clemenceau Ministry of 1906 that he returned to office, once more with the portfolio of Finance. During the

revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers The Revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers was a mass movement in 1907 in Languedoc and the Pyrénées-Orientales of France that was repressed by the government of Georges Clemenceau. It was caused by a serious crisis in winemaking at the start of ...

on 22 May 1907 Caillaux tabled a bill on wine fraud. The text submitted to Parliament provided for an annual declaration of their harvest by wine growers, prohibition of second-cycle sweetening, and control and taxation of purchases of sugar. In 1911 he became prime minister. The leader of the

Radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

, he favored a policy of conciliation with Germany during his premiership from 1911 to 1912, which led to the maintenance of the peace during the

Second Moroccan Crisis The Agadir Crisis, Agadir Incident, or Second Moroccan Crisis was a brief crisis sparked by the deployment of a substantial force of French troops in the interior of Morocco in April 1911 and the deployment of the German gunboat to Agadir, a ...

of 1911. He and his ministers were forced to resign on 11 January 1912, after it was revealed that he had secretly negotiated with Germany without the knowledge of President

Armand Fallières Clément Armand Fallières (; 6 November 1841 – 22 June 1931) was a French statesman who was President of France from 1906 to 1913. He was born at Mézin in the ''département'' of Lot-et-Garonne, France, where his father was clerk of ...

. Nevertheless, thanks to his undoubted qualities as a financier, he remained a great power in French politics. He fought the Three Years' Service bill with the utmost tenacity. Although that measure became law, it was he who finally, on the financial aspect of that bill, brought about the downfall of the Barthou Ministry in the autumn of 1913. While the

Entente Cordiale The Entente Cordiale (; ) comprised a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic which saw a significant improvement in Anglo-French relations. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial de ...

was in effect, it was impossible for Caillaux to return to the position of prime minister, but he joined the succeeding Doumergue Cabinet as Minister of Finance. As a financial expert, he had long identified himself with a great and necessary reform in the fiscal policy of France—the introduction of the principle of an income tax. Throughout the winter of 1913, he campaigned for this principle. His advocacy of an income tax, and his uncertain and erratic championship of proletarian ideas, alarmed all the conservative elements in the country, and throughout the winter he was attacked with increasing vehemence from the platform and through the press. Those attacks reached their highest point of bitterness in a series of disclosures in the newspaper ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'' of a more or less personal nature. Henriette Caillaux

In 1914, ''Le Figaro'' started the publication of love letters that had been sent by Caillaux to his second wife Henriette while he was still married to the first. In March 1914, Madame Caillaux in turn shot to death Gaston Calmette, the editor of ''Le Figaro'', and Caillaux resigned as Minister of Finance. In July 1914, Madame Caillaux was acquitted on the grounds that she committed a ''crime passionel''. Caillaux became the leader of a peace party in the Assembly during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. After a mission to South America, he returned in 1915, and at once began to lobby. He financed newspapers, and did everything he possibly could behind the scenes to consolidate his position. He became acquainted with the Bolos and the Malvys of political and journalistic life. By the spring of 1917, he had become in the eyes of the public "''l'homme de la défaite''", the man who was willing to effect a compromise peace with Germany at the expense of Great Britain. However, the advent of Clemenceau to power killed all his hopes. This led to his arrest for treason in 1917. After a long delay, he was convicted of high treason by the High Court of the Senate, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, the term he had already served. He was also forbidden to reside in French territory for five years and deprived of civil rights for ten years. Again rehabilitated after the war, Caillaux served at various times in the left wing governments of the 1920s."Caillaux's Political Resurrection", ''The Literary Digest'', 2 May 1925. Joseph Caillaux is interred in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...

in Paris. His political collaborators included the Nord region journalist and politician Émile Roche.

Caillaux's Ministry, 27 June 1911 – 11 January 1912

* Joseph Caillaux – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior and Worship *

Justin de Selves Justin Germain Casimir de Selves (19 July 1848 in Toulouse – 12 January 1934 in Paris) was a French politician. He held an officer rank in the Franco-Prussian war. He was Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs from 1890 to 1896. He became ...

– Minister of Foreign Affairs *

Adolphe Messimy Adolphe Marie Messimy (31 January 1869 – 1 September 1935) was a French politician and general. He served as Minister of War in 1911–12 and then again for a few months during July Crisis, the outbreak of and first three weeks of the First Wor ...

– Minister of War * Louis-Lucien Klotz – Minister of Finance * René Renoult – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions * Jean Cruppi – Minister of Justice * Théophile Delcassé – Minister of Marine * Théodore Steeg – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts *

Jules Pams Jules Pams (14 August 1852 – 12 May 1930) was a French politician who was a deputy from 1893 to 1904, then a senator from 1904 to 1930. He was Minister of Agriculture from 1911 to 1913 and Minister of the Interior from 1917 to 1920. In 1913 he w ...

– Minister of Agriculture *

Albert Lebrun Albert François Lebrun (; 29 August 1871 – 6 March 1950) was a French politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940. He was the last president of the Third Republic. He was a member of the centre-right Democratic Republican Alliance (A ...

– Minister of Colonies *

Victor Augagneur Victor Augagneur (16 May 1855 – 23 April 1931) was a French politician. Augagneur was born in Lyon. He was the mayor of Lyon from 1900 to 1905, and represented the Independent Socialists in the Chamber of Deputies from 1904 to 1905. He was Go ...

– Minister of Public Works, Posts, and Telegraphs *

Maurice Couyba Charles Maurice Couyba (1 January 1866 – 18 November 1931) was a French professor and politician. He was a deputy from 1897 to 1907, then a senator from 1907 to 1920. He was Minister of Commerce and Industry from 1911 to 1912, and was briefly ...

– Minister of Commerce and Industry

Works

* ''The Fiscal Question in France,'' King, 1900.
''Whither France? Whither Europe?''
T. Fisher Unwin, 1923.

Articles

"Economics and Politics in Europe,"
''Foreign Affairs,'' Vol. 1, No. 2, 15 December 1922. * "France's Needs and Europe's Danger," ''The Living Age,'' 10 February 1923. * "Destiny Has Changed Horses," ''The Living Age,'' 4 October 1924. * "A United States of Europe," ''The Living Age,'' 6 June 1925. * "A Gospel of Firmness and Vigor," ''The Living Age,'' 31 July 1926.
"Whither is Civilisation Drifting?,"
''

The Windsor Magazine ''The Windsor Magazine'' was a monthly illustrated publication produced by Ward Lock & Co from January 1895 to September 1939 (537 issues). The title page described it as "An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women". It was bound as six-monthly ...

,'' Vol. LXX, June/November 1929.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caillaux, Joseph 1863 births 1944 deaths People from Le Mans Politicians from Pays de la Loire Democratic Republican Alliance politicians Radical Party (France) politicians Prime Ministers of France French interior ministers French Ministers of Finance Government ministers of France Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 8th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French Senators of the Third Republic Senators of Sarthe Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery