Félix Jules Méline (; 20 May 183821 December 1925) was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France from 1896 to 1898.

Biography

Méline was born at Remiremont. Having taken up law as his profession, he was chosen a deputy in 1872, and in 1879 he was for a short time Under-Secretary to the Minister of the Interior. In 1880 he came to the front as the leading spokesman of the party which favoured the protection of French industries, and he had a considerable share in fashioning the protectionist legislation of the years 1890–1902. From 1883 to 1885 Méline was Minister for Agriculture, and in 1888–1889 he was President of the Chamber of Deputies. In 1896 he became Premier (''Président du Conseil'') and Minister for Agriculture, offices which he vacated in 1898. At one time he edited '' La République francaise'', and after his retirement from public life he wrote ''Le Retour de la terre et Ia surproduction industrielle, tout en faveur de l'agriculture'' (1905). The introduction of French protectionist measure of 1892 is named after him, the Méline tariff.Michael S. Smith, "The Méline Tariff as Social Protection: Rhetoric or Reality?" ''International Review of Social History'' (1992) 37 : pp 230-243

Méline's Ministry

Méline's Ministry, 29 April 1896 – 28 June 1898: *Jules Méline – President of the Council and Minister of Agriculture * Gabriel Hanotaux – Minister of Foreign Affairs * Jean-Baptiste Billot – Minister of War * Louis Barthou – Minister of the Interior * Georges Cochery – Minister of Finance *

Jean-Baptiste Darlan Jean-Baptiste Darlan (10 June 1848 – 8 December 1912) was a French politician who was Minister of Justice in 1896–97. Early years (1848–80) Jean-Baptiste Darlan was born on 10 June 1848 in Podensac, Gironde, son of a sea captain. A distant ...

– Minister of Justice * Armand Louis Charles Gustave Besnard – Minister of Marine * Alfred Rambaud – Minister of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Worship * André Lebon – Minister of Colonies * Adolphe Turrel – Minister of Public Works * Henry Boucher – Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs Changes *26 September 1896 –

succeeds Rambaud as Minister of Worship, remaining also Minister of Justice. Rambaud remains Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts. *1 December 1897 – Victor Milliard succeeds Darlan as Minister of Justice and Worship. *31 May 1898 – Gabriel Hanotaux succeeds Lebon as interim Minister of Colonies, remaining also Minister of Foreign Affairs.

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