André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist leader

Jean Jaurès Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Léon Jaurès (3 September 185931 July 1914), commonly referred to as Jean Jaurès (; oc, Joan Jaurés ), was a French Socialist leader. Initially a Moderate Republican, he later became one of the first social dem ...

and after Jaurès' assassination in 1914, became his successor. Despite his relatively short tenures, his time in office was very influential: as Prime Minister in the left-wing

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

government in 1936–37, he provided a series of major economic and social reforms. Blum declared neutrality in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

(1936–1939) to avoid the civil conflict spilling over into France itself. Once out of office in 1938, he denounced the appeasement of Germany. When Germany defeated France in 1940, he became a staunch opponent of Vichy France. Tried (but never judged) by the Vichy government on charges of treason, he was imprisoned in the

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...

concentration camp. After the war, he resumed a transitional leadership role in French politics, helping to bring about the

French Fourth Republic The French Fourth Republic (french: Quatrième république française) was the republican government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Re ...

, until his death in 1950.

Early life

Blum was born in 1872 in Paris to a moderately prosperous, middle class, assimilated

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in the mercantile business. His father Abraham, a merchant, was born in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. Blum entered the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

in 1890 and excelled there, but he dropped out after a year later entering instead the Faculty of Law. He attended the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and became both a lawyer and literary critic. Between 1905 and 1907 he wrote '' Du Mariage'' a highly controversial (for the period) and much talked about critical essay about traditional marriage as envisioned in the late 19th century with its religious and economic background and strong stress on women remaining virgins until their marriage day. Blum stated that both men and women should enjoy a period of "polygamic" free sex life in order to experience a more mature and stable relationship during later married life. Unsurprisingly he was targeted by the then powerful Catholic Church in France, in the wake of the turmoil caused by the separation between church and state implemented by Emile Combes in 1905. Far right and royalist politicians and agitatators, and most preeminently

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-par ...

, were incensed, and pelted mostly anti-semitic insults and public outrage at Blum, famously dubbing him "le pornographe du Conseil d'état" as Blum was by then a counsellor of this institution. Although Blum's views being nowadays accepted and mostly mainstream in many developed countries, the book remained an object of scandal long after WWI and the shift to emancipation of women.

First political experiences

While in his youth an avid reader of the works of the nationalist writer Maurice Barrès, Blum had shown little interest in politics until the

Dreyfus Affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

of 1894, which had a traumatic effect on him as it did on many French Jews. Blum first became personally involved in the Affair when he aided the defense case of

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

in 1898 as a jurist, before which he had not demonstrated interest in public affairs. Campaigning as a Dreyfusard brought him into contact with the socialist leader

, whom he greatly admired. He began contributing to the socialist daily, '' L'Humanité'', and joined the French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO). Soon he was the party's main theoretician. It is possible that Blum's interest in politics began somewhat earlier, as Fernand Gregh mentioned in his personal memoirs that Blum had expressed interest in politics as early as 1892. In July 1914, just as the First World War broke out, Jaurès was assassinated, and Blum became more active in the Socialist party leadership. In August 1914 Blum became assistant to the Socialist Minister of Public Works

Marcel Sembat Marcel Sembat (, 19 October 1862 – 5 September 1922) was a French Socialist politician. He served as a member of the National Assembly of France from 1893 to 1922, and as Minister of Public Works from August 26, 1914, to December 12, 1916. B ...

. In 1919 he was chosen as chair of the party's executive committee, and was also elected to the National Assembly as a representative of Paris. Believing that there was no such thing as a "good dictatorship", he opposed participation in the Comintern. Therefore, in 1920, he worked to prevent a split between supporters and opponents of the Russian Revolution, but the radicals seceded, taking '' L'Humanité'' with them, and formed the SFIC. Blum led the SFIO through the 1920s and 1930s, and was also editor of the party's newspaper, ''

Le Populaire ''Le Populaire'' is a major independent daily newspaper in Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ...

''.

Popular Front government of 1936–1940

Blum was elected as Deputy for

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the ...

in 1929, and was re-elected in 1932 and 1936. In 1933, he expelled

Marcel Déat Marcel Déat (7 March 1894 – 5 January 1955) was a French politician. Initially a socialist and a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), he led a breakaway group of right-wing ' Neosocialists' out of the SFIO in 1933 ...

Pierre Renaudel Pierre Renaudel (19 December 1871 – 1 April 1935) was a French socialist politician and journalist. Biography He served as central committee member of the League of Human Rights (''Ligue des droits de l'homme'', LDH), was a founder and ''m ...

, and other neosocialists from the SFIO. Political circumstances changed in 1934, when the rise of German dictator

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and fascist riots in Paris caused

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

and the French Communists to change their policy. In 1935 all the parties of left and centre formed the

. France had not successfully recovered from the worldwide economic depression, wages had fallen and the working class demanded reforms. The Popular Front won a sweeping victory in June 1936. The Popular Front won a solid majority with 386 seats out of 608. For the first time, the Socialists won more seats than the Radicals; they formed an effective coalition. As Socialist leader Blum became Prime Minister of France and the first socialist to hold that office, he formed a cabinet that included 20 Socialists, 13 Radicals and two Socialist Republicans. The Communists won 15 percent of the vote, and 12 percent of the seats. They supported the government, although they refused to take any cabinet positions. For the first time, the cabinet included three women in minor roles, even though women were not able to vote.

Labour policies

The election of the left-wing government brought a wave of strikes, involving two million workers, and the seizure of many factories. The strikes were spontaneous and unorganised, but nevertheless the business community panicked and met secretly with Blum, who negotiated a series of reforms, and then gave labour unions the credit for the Matignon Accords. The new laws: * gave workers the

right to strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the In ...

* initiated

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...

* legislated the mandating of 12 days of paid annual leave * legislated a 40-hour working week (outside of overtime) * raised wages (15% for the lowest-paid workers, and 7% for the relatively well-paid) * stipulated that employers would recognise shop stewards. * ensured that there would be no retaliation against strikers. The government legislated its promised reforms as rapidly as possible. On 11 June, the Chamber of Deputies voted for the forty-hour workweek, the restoration of civil servants' salaries, and two weeks' paid holidays, by a majority of 528 to 7. The Senate voted in favour of these laws within a week. Blum persuaded the workers to accept pay raises and go back to work. Wages increased sharply; in two years the national average was up 48 percent. However inflation also rose 46%. The imposition of the 40-hour week proved highly inefficient, as industry had a difficult time adjusting to it. The economic confusion hindered the rearmament effort, and the rapid growth of German armaments alarmed Blum. He launched a major program to speed up arms production. The cost forced the abandonment of the social reform programmes that the Popular Front had counted heavily on.

Additional reforms

By mid-August 1936, the parliament had voted for: * the creation of a national ''Office du blé'' (Grain Board or Wheat Office, through which the government helped to market agricultural produce at fair prices for farmers) to stabilise prices and curb speculation * the nationalisation of the arms industries * loans to small and medium-sized industries * the raising of the compulsory school-attendance age to 14 years * a major public works programme It also raised the pay, pensions, and allowances of public-sector workers and ex-servicemen. The 1920 Sales Tax, opposed by the Left as a tax on consumers, was abolished and replaced by a production tax, which was considered to be a tax on the producer instead of the consumer. Blum dissolved the far-right fascist leagues. In turn the Popular Front was actively fought by right-wing and far-right movements, which often used antisemitic slurs against Blum and other Jewish ministers. The

Cagoule A cagoule (), also spelled cagoul, kagoule or kagool, is the British English term for a lightweight weatherproof raincoat or anorak with a hood (usually without lining), which often comes in knee-length form.The Chambers Dictionary, 1994, The Ca ...

far-right group even staged bombings to disrupt the government.

Spanish Civil War

The

broke out in July 1936 and deeply divided France. Blum adopted a policy of neutrality rather than assisting his ideological fellows, the Spanish Left-leaning Republicans. He acted from fear of splitting his domestic alliance with the centrist Radicals, or even precipitating an ideological civil war inside France. His refusal to send arms to Spain strained his alliance with the Communists, who followed Soviet policy and demanded all-out support for the Spanish Republic. The impossible dilemma caused by this issue led Blum to resign in June 1937. All the constituents of the French left supported the Republican government in Madrid, while the right supported the Nationalist insurgents. Blum's cabinet was deeply divided and he decided on a policy of non-intervention, and collaborated with Britain and 25 other countries to formalize an agreement against sending any munitions or volunteer soldiers to Spain. The Air Minister defied the cabinet and secretly sold warplanes to Madrid. Jackson concludes that the French government "was virtually paralyzed by the menace of civil war at home, the German danger abroad, and the weakness of her own defenses." The Republicans by 1938 were losing badly (they gave up in 1939), sending upwards of 500,000 political refugees across the border into France, where they were held in camps.

Attacks on Blum

On 13 February 1936, shortly before becoming Prime Minister, Blum was dragged from a car and almost beaten to death by the Camelots du Roi, a group of antisemites and royalists. The group's parent organisation, the right-wing

Action Française Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

league, was dissolved by the government following this incident, not long before the elections that brought Blum to power. Blum became the first socialist and the first Jew to serve as Prime Minister of France. As such he was an object of particular hatred from antisemitic elements. In its short life, the Popular Front government passed important legislation, including the 40-hour week, 12 paid annual holidays for the workers, collective bargaining on wage claims, and the full nationalisation of the armament and military aviation industries. This latter sweeping action had the unanticipated effect of disrupting the production of armaments at the wrong time, only three years away from the beginning of war in September 1939. Blum also attempted to pass legislation extending the rights of the Arab population of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, but this was blocked by "colons", colonist representatives in the Chamber and Senate.

Second government in 1938 and collapse

Blum was briefly Prime Minister again in March and April 1938, long enough to ship

heavy artillery The formal definition of large-calibre artillery used by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is "guns, howitzers, artillery pieces, combining the characteristics of a gun, howitzer, mortar, or multiple-launch rocket syst ...

and other much needed military equipment to the Spanish Republicans. He was unable to establish a stable ministry; on 10 April 1938, his socialist government fell and he was removed from office. In foreign policy, his government was torn between the traditional anti-militarism of the French Left and the urgency of the rising threat of

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 ...

. The government cooperated with Britain and declared war on Germany when it invaded Poland in September 1939. Eight months of

Phoney War The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...

thereafter, saw little or no movement. Suddenly in the spring of 1940, the Germans invaded France and defeated the French and British armies in a matter of weeks. The British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk, taking many French soldiers along. France gave up, signing an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

that gave Germany full control over much of France, with a rump

Vichy government 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 terr ...

in control of the remainder as well as of the French colonial empire and the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

. The same

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

that had sponsored the Popular Front program since 1936 remained in power; it voted overwhelmingly to make 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 ...

a dictator and reverse all of the gains of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 19 ...

. Many historians judge the Popular Front a failure in terms of economics, foreign policy, and long-term stability. "Disappointment and failure," says Jackson, "was the legacy of the Popular Front." There is general agreement that at first it created enormous excitement and expectation on the left, but in the end it failed to live up to its promise.

Second World War

When the Germans occupied France in June 1940, Blum made no effort to leave the country, despite the extreme danger he was in as a Jew and a socialist leader; instead of fleeing the country, he escaped to southern France, but the French ordered his arrest. Blum was imprisoned in Fort du Portalet in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. Blum was among " The Vichy 80", a minority of parliamentarians that refused to grant full powers to Marshal Pétain. He was arrested by the authorities in September and held until 1942, when he was put on trial in the Riom Trial on charges of treason, for having "weakened France's defenses" by ordering her arsenal shipped to Spain, leaving France's infantry unsupported by heavy artillery on the eastern front against Nazi Germany. He used the courtroom to make a "brilliant indictment" of the French military and pro-German politicians like Pierre Laval. The trial was such an embarrassment to the Vichy regime that the Germans ordered it called off, worried that Blum's expert performance would have major public consequences. He was transferred to German custody and imprisoned in Germany until 1945. In April 1943, the occupying Government had Blum imprisoned in

. As the war worsened for the Germans, they moved him into the section reserved for high-ranking prisoners, hoping that he might be used as a possible hostage for surrender negotiations. His future wife, Jeanne Adèle "Janot" Levylier, chose to come to the camp voluntarily to live with him inside the camp, and they were married there. As the Allied armies approached Buchenwald, he was transferred to Dachau, near

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, and in late April 1945, together with other notable inmates, to

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

. In the last weeks of the war the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

regime gave orders that he was to be executed , but the local authorities decided not to obey them. Blum was rescued by Allied troops in May 1945. While in prison he wrote his best-known work, the essay ' ("On a human scale"). His brother René, the founder of the Ballet de l'Opéra à Monte Carlo, was arrested in Paris in 1942. He was deported to Auschwitz, where, according to the Vrba-Wetzler report, he was tortured and killed in September 1942.

Post-war period

After the war, Léon Blum returned to politics, and was again briefly Prime Minister in the transitional postwar coalition government. He advocated an alliance between the center-left and the center-right parties in order to support the Fourth Republic against the Gaullists and the Communists. Although Blum's last government was very much an interim administration (lasting less than five weeks) it nevertheless succeeded in implementing a number of measures which helped to reduce the cost of living.''A History of the Twentieth Century: Volume Two: 1933–1951'', by Martin Gilbert Blum also served as Vice-Premier for one month in the summer of 1948 in the very short-lived government led by André Marie. Blum also served as an ambassador on a government loan mission to the United States, and as head of the French mission to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. He continued to write for ''

'' until his death at

Jouy-en-Josas Jouy-en-Josas () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. Jouy-en-Josas is home to the main campus of HEC ...

, near Paris, on 30 March 1950. The kibbutz of Kfar Blum in northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

is named after him.

Government

First ministry (4 June 1936 – 22 June 1937)

*Léon Blum – President of the Council * Édouard Daladier – Vice President of the Council and Minister of National Defense and War *

Yvon Delbos Yvon Delbos (7 May 1885 – 15 November 1956) was a French Radical-Socialist Party politician and minister. Delbos was born in Thonac, Dordogne, and entered a career as a journalist, and became a member of the Radical-Socialist Party. He sub ...

– Minister of Foreign Affairs * Roger Salengro – Minister of the Interior *

Vincent Auriol Vincent Jules Auriol (; 27 August 1884 – 1 January 1966) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1947 to 1954. Early life and politics Auriol was born in Revel, Haute-Garonne, as the only child of Jacques Antoine Aurio ...

– Minister of Finance * Charles Spinasse – Minister of National Economy * Jean-Baptiste Lebas – Minister of Labour * Marc Rucart – Minister of Justice * Alphonse Gasnier-Duparc – Minister of Marine *

Pierre Cot Pierre Jules Cot (20 November 1895, in Grenoble – 21 August 1977, Paris), was a French politician and leading figure in the Popular Front government of the 1930s. Born in Grenoble into a conservative Catholic family, he entered politics as a ...

– Minister of Air * Jean Zay – Minister of National Education * Albert Rivière – Minister of Pensions * Georges Monnet – Minister of Agriculture * Marius Moutet – Minister of Colonies * Albert Bedouce – Minister of Public Works * Henri Sellier – Minister of Public Health *Robert Jardillier – Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones * Paul Bastid – Minister of Commerce * Camille Chautemps – Minister of State * Paul Faure – Minister of State *

Maurice Viollette Maurice Viollette (3 September 1870 in Janville, Eure-et-Loir – 9 September 1960 in Dreux) was a French politician, statesman. He was chief-of-staff for Alexandre Millerand in the Waldeck-Rousseau government in 1898, and was elected as a ' ...

– Minister of State * Léo Lagrange – Under-Secretary of State for the Organization of the leisure activities and sports -i.e. Minister for the Sports Changes: *18 November 1936 – Marx Dormoy succeeds Roger Salengro as Minister of the Interior, following Salengro's suicide.

Second ministry (13 March – 10 April 1938)

*Léon Blum – President of the Council and Minister of Treasury * Édouard Daladier – Vice President of the Council and Minister of National Defense and War * Joseph Paul-Boncour – Minister of Foreign Affairs * Marx Dormoy – Minister of the Interior * Charles Spinasse – Minister of Budget * Albert Sérol – Minister of Labour * Marc Rucart – Minister of Justice * César Campinchi – Minister of Military Marine * Guy La Chambre – Minister of Air * Jean Zay – Minister of National Education * Albert Rivière – Minister of Pensions * Georges Monnet – Minister of Agriculture * Marius Moutet – Minister of Colonies * Jules Moch – Minister of Public Works * Fernand Gentin – Minister of Public Health * Jean-Baptiste Lebas – Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones * Ludovic-Oscar Frossard – Minister of Propaganda *

– Minister of Coordination of Services of the Presidency of the Council *

– Minister of Commerce * Paul Faure – Minister of State *

Théodore Steeg Théodore Steeg () (19 December 1868 – 19 December 1950) was a lawyer and professor of philosophy who became Premier of the French Third Republic. Steeg entered French politics in 1904 as a radical socialist, although his views were generally m ...

– Minister of State *

Albert Sarraut Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic. Biography Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. On 14 March 1907 Sarraut ...

– Minister of State in charge of North African Affairs * Léo Lagrange – Under-Secretary of State for the Sports, the Leisure activities and the Physical Education

Third ministry (16 December 1946 – 22 January 1947)

*Léon Blum – President of the Provisional Government and Minister of Foreign Affairs * André Le Troquer – Minister of National Defense * Édouard Depreux – Minister of the Interior *

André Philip André Philip (28 June 1902 – 5 July 1970) was a SFIO member who served in 1942 as Interior Minister under the Free French provisional government of General Charles de Gaulle. He also served as a finance minister in 1946 and part of 1947 in the ...

– Minister of Familial Economy and Finance *

Robert Lacoste Robert Lacoste (5 July 1898 – 8 March 1989) was a French politician. He was a socialist MP of the Dordogne from 1945 to 1958, and from 1962 to 1967. He then served as senator from 1971 to 1980. Biography Robert Lacoste was born at Azera ...

– Minister of Industrial Production * Daniel Mayer – Minister of Labour and Social Security *

Paul Ramadier Paul Ramadier (17 March 1888 in La Rochelle – 14 October 1961 in Rodez) was a French statesman. Biography The son of a psychiatrist, Ramadier graduated in law from the University of Toulouse and started his profession as a lawyer in Par ...

– Minister of Justice * Yves Tanguy – Minister of Public Utilities * Marcel Edmond Naegelen – Minister of National Education * – Minister of Veterans and War Victims * François Tanguy-Prigent – Minister of Agriculture * Marius Moutet – Minister of Overseas France * Jules Moch – Minister of Public Works, Transport, Reconstruction, and Town Planning * – Minister of Public Health and Population * Eugène Thomas – Minister of Posts *

Félix Gouin Félix Gouin (; 4 October 1884 – 25 October 1977) was a French Socialist politician who was a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO). Personal life Félix Gouin was born in Peypin, Bouches-du-Rhône, the son of ...

– Minister of Planning * Guy Mollet – Minister of State * Augustin Laurent – Minister of State Changes: *23 December 1946 – Augustin Laurent succeeds Moutet as Minister of Overseas France.

Books by Léon Blum

*''Nouvelles conversations de

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

avec

Eckermann Johann Peter Eckermann (21 September 1792 – 3 December 1854), German poet and author, is best known for his work ''Conversations with Goethe'', the fruit of his association with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe during the last years of Goethe's life. ...

'', Éditions de la Revue blanche, 1901. *''Du mariage'', Paul Ollendorff, 1907; English translation, ''Marriage'', J. B. Lippincott Company, 1937. *'' Stendhal et le beylisme'', Paul Ollendorff, 1914. *''Pour être socialiste'', Libraire Populaire, 1920. *''Bolchévisme et socialisme'', Librairie populaire, 1927. *''Souvenirs sur l'Affaire'', Gallimard, 1935. *''La Réforme gouvernementale'', Bernard Grasset, 1936. *''À l'échelle humaine'', Gallimard, 1945; English translation, ''For All Mankind'', Victor Gollancz, 1946 (Left Book Club). *''L'Histoire jugera'', Éditions de l'Arbre, 1943. *''Le Dernier mois'', Diderot, 1946. *''Révolution socialiste ou révolution directoriale'', J. Lefeuvre, 1947. *''Discours politiques'', Imprimerie Nationale, 1997.

References

External links

Maison de Léon et Jeanne Blum

Cercle Léon Blum
(in French) * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blum, Leon 1872 births 1950 deaths 20th-century heads of state of France Politicians from Paris Jewish French politicians 20th-century French Jews French Section of the Workers' International politicians Heads of state of France Prime Ministers of France French Foreign Ministers French Ministers of Finance French socialists Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 15th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic The Vichy 80 Human Rights League (France) members Jewish socialists Jewish prime ministers Members of the Executive of the Labour and Socialist International Lycée Henri-IV alumni École Normale Supérieure alumni Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Dachau concentration camp survivors Jewish anti-fascists Dreyfusards