Léon Victor Auguste Bourgeois (; 21 May 185129 September 1925) was a French statesman. His ideas influenced the Radical Party regarding a wide range of issues. He promoted

progressive tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases.Sommerfeld, Ray M., Silvia A. Madeo, Kenneth E. Anderson, Betty R. Jackson (1992), ''Concepts of Taxation'', Dryden Press: Fort Worth, TX The term ''progre ...

ation such as progressive

income taxes An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Ta ...

and

social insurance Social insurance is a form of social welfare that provides insurance against economic risks. The insurance may be provided publicly or through the subsidizing of private insurance. In contrast to other forms of social assistance, individuals' ...

schemes, along with economic equality, expanded educational opportunities, and cooperative solidarism. In foreign policy, he called for a strong League of Nations, and the maintenance of peace through

compulsory arbitration Compulsion may refer to: * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by ...

, controlled

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as ...

economic sanctions Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they ma ...

, and perhaps an international military force.

Biography

Bourgeois was born 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 ...

in to a modest Republican family of a watchmaker of Burgundian descent, and was trained in law. After holding a subordinate office (1876) in the department of public works, he became successively prefect of the Tarn (1882) and the

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...

(1885), and then returned to Paris to enter the Ministry of the Interior. He became Prefect of Police in November 1887 at the critical moment of

Jules Grévy François Judith Paul Grévy (15 August 1807 – 9 September 1891), known as Jules Grévy (), was a French lawyer and politician who served as President of France from 1879 to 1887. He was a leader of the Moderate Republicans, and given that hi ...

's resignation from the presidency. In the following year, he entered the Chamber, being elected deputy for the Marne, in opposition to George Boulanger, and joined the Radical Left. He was undersecretary for Home Affairs in

Charles Floquet Charles Thomas Floquet (; 2 October 1828 – 18 January 1896) was a French lawyer and statesman. Biography He was born at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port ( Basses-Pyrénées). Charles Floquet is the son of Pierre Charlemagne Floquet and Marie Léocadie ...

's ministry of 1888 and resigned with it in 1889, being then returned to the chamber for Reims. In

Pierre Tirard Pierre Emmanuel Tirard (; 27 September 1827 – 4 November 1893) was a French politician. Biography He was born to French parents in Geneva, Switzerland. After studying in his native town, Tirard became a civil engineer. After five years of go ...

's ministry, which succeeded, he was Minister of the Interior, and subsequently, on 18 March 1890, Minister of Public Instruction in the cabinet of Charles Louis de Saulces de Freycinet, a post for which he had qualified himself by the attention he had given to educational matters. In this capacity, he was responsible for some important reforms in secondary education in 1890. He retained his office in

Émile Loubet Émile François Loubet (; 30 December 183820 December 1929) was the 45th Prime Minister of France from February to December 1892 and later President of France from 1899 to 1906. Trained in law, he became mayor of Montélimar, where he was not ...

's cabinet in 1892, and 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 ...

under

Alexandre Ribot Alexandre-Félix-Joseph Ribot (; 7 February 184213 January 1923) was a French politician, four times Prime Minister. Early career Ribot was born in Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais. After a brilliant academic career at the University of Paris, where h ...

at the end of that year, when the

Panama scandals Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a List of transcontinental countries#North America and South America, transcontinental country spanning the Central America, southern ...

were making the office one of peculiar difficulty. He energetically pressed the Panama prosecution, so much so that he was accused of having put wrongful pressure on the wife of one of the defendants in order to procure evidence. To meet the charge, he resigned in March 1893 but again took office and retired only with the rest of the Freycinet ministry. In November 1895, he formed his own cabinet, distinctively radical, which fell as the result of a constitutional crisis arising from the persistent refusal of the Senate to vote supply. He was an eminent Freemason and eight of his cabinet members were Freemasons.

The Bourgeois ministry seemed to think that popular opinion would enable them to override what they regarded as an unconstitutional action on the part of the upper house. However, the public was indifferent, and the Senate triumphed. The blow damaged Bourgeois's career as an ''homme de gouvernement''. As Minister of Public Instruction in the Brisson cabinet of 1898, he organized courses for adults in primary education. After the short ministry, he represented his country with dignity and effect at the Hague Peace Convention, and in 1903 was nominated a member of the permanent court of arbitration. He held somewhat aloof from the political struggles of the Waldeck-Rousseau and Combes ministries, travelling considerably in foreign countries. In 1902 and 1903, he was elected president of the Chamber. In 1905, he replaced the duc d'Audiffret-Pasquier as senator for the department of Marne, and in May 1906, he became

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

in the Sarrien cabinet. He was responsible for the direction of French diplomacy in the conference at

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

. He was delegate to both Hague Conferences held in 1899 and 1907. Bourgeois also became delegate to Paris Peace Conference and strongly supported the Japanese Racial Equality Proposal as "an indisputable principle of justice".Conférence de paix de Paris, 1919–1920, ''Recueil des actes de la Conférence'', "Secret," Partie 4, pp. 175–176. as cited in Paul Gordon Lauren (1988), ''Power And Prejudice: The Politics And Diplomacy of Racial Discrimination'' Westview Press p.92 Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he became President of the Council of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

and won the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

for his work in 1920. A social republican, Bourgeois sought a middle ground between socialism and capitalism which he termed "solidarism". He believed that the rich had a social debt to the poor which they should pay by the income tax, thus providing the state with the necessary revenue to finance social measures for those living in poverty. However, the Senate opposed his proposal, and opposition grew until his resignation as prime minister.

Bourgeois's Ministry, 1 November 1895 – 29 April 1896

*Léon Bourgeois – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior *

Marcellin Berthelot Pierre Eugène Marcellin Berthelot (; 25 October 1827 – 18 March 1907) was a French chemist and Republican politician noted for the ThomsenBerthelot principle of thermochemistry. He synthesized many organic compounds from inorganic substa ...

– Minister of Foreign Affairs *

Godefroy Cavaignac Godefroy, a surname of Old French origin, and originally a given name, cognate with Geoffrey/Geoffroy/Jeffrey/Jeffries, Godfrey, Gottfried, etc. Godefroy may refer to: People Given name * Godefroi, Comte d'Estrades (1607–1686), French diplomat a ...

– Minister of War * Paul Doumer – Minister of Finance * Louis Ricard – Minister of Justice * Édouard Locroy – Minister of Marine *

Émile Combes Émile Justin Louis Combes (; 6 September 183525 May 1921) was a French statesman and freemason who led the Bloc des gauches's cabinet from June 1902 to January 1905. Career Émile Combes was born in Roquecourbe, Tarn. He studied for the pri ...

– Minister of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Worship * Albert Viger – Minister of Agriculture *

Pierre-Paul Guieysse Pierre-Paul Guieysse, (May 11, 1841 – May 19, 1914) was a French Socialist politician. He was Minister of the Colonies in the French Cabinet headed by Léon Bourgeois between 1895 and 1896. Life He was born in Lorient, Brittany, of a Protestan ...

– Minister of Colonies * Edmond Guyot-Dessaigne – Minister of Public Works *

Gustave Mesureur Gustave Émile Eugène Mesureur (2 April 1847 – 19 August 1925) was a French politician. He was born in Marcq-en-Barœul (Nord) on 2 April 1847. He worked as a designer in Paris, and became prominent as a member of the municipal council of Paris ...

– Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs Changes *28 March 1896 – Bourgeois succeeds Berthelot as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ferdinand Sarrien succeeds Bourgeois as Minister of the Interior.

Support to the French National Museum of Natural History

Bourgeois is one of the founders of the

Friends of the Natural History Museum Paris The Friends of the Natural History Museum (French: Société des Amis du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle et du Jardin des Plantes or ''Les Amis du Muséum'') is a French non-profit organisation (association loi 1901), created in 1907 and r ...

society. He was the very first president in office from 1907 to 1922.Yves Laissus, "Cent ans d'histoire", ''1907-2007 - Les Amis du Muséum'', centennial special, September 2007, supplement to the quarterly publication '' Les Amis du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'', n° 230, June 2007, ISSN 1161-9104 .

References

* ''France since 1870: Culture, Politics and Society'' by Charles Sowerine.

External links

* including the communication with the Nobel Committee, December, 1922 ''The Reasons for the League of Nations''
About Leon Victor Auguste Bourgeois
on nobel-winners.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourgeois, Leon 1851 births 1925 deaths Politicians from Paris Radical Party (France) politicians Prime Ministers of France French Foreign Ministers French Ministers of Justice French interior ministers Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (France) Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 8th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French Senators of the Third Republic Senators of Marne (department) Presidents of the Senate (France) Prefects of Haute-Garonne Prefects of Tarn (department) Prefects of police of Paris Delegates to the Hague Peace Conferences Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration Presidents of the Assembly of the League of Nations French Freemasons Nobel Peace Prize laureates French Nobel laureates Officiers of the Légion d'honneur French judges of international courts and tribunals