Louis-Lucien Klotz (11 January 1868 – 15 June 1930) was a French journalist and politician. He was the French

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", " ...

during

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 ...

Early life

Klotz 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 ...

to Alsatian

Jew 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""T ...

ish parents. He was the nephew of Victor Klotz (1836–1906), a wealthy

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

dealer. After completing his

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

education, he enrolled as an advocate at the '' Cour d'Appel'' in Paris. In 1888, at the age of twenty, he founded ''Vie Franco-Russe'', an illustrated paper intended to increase popular support for the

Franco-Russian Alliance The Franco-Russian Alliance (french: Alliance Franco-Russe, russian: Франко-Русский Альянс, translit=Franko-Russkiy Al'yans), or Russo-French Rapprochement (''Rapprochement Russo-Français'', Русско-Французско� ...

. In 1892 he became editor of '' Le Voltaire'', and campaigned against the reactionary policy of

Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 1881 and 1883 to 1885. He ...

. In 1895, he founded ''Français Quotidien'', a patriotic daily paper devoted to national defense, into which ''Voltaire'' was later merged.

Political career

Klotz was an unsuccessful candidate for the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

from his Paris district in the 1893 election. He ran for office and lost again a few years later. Then in the 1898 election, he ran for the Assembly from Montdidier as a Radical Socialist. This time, he was elected by an overwhelming majority. He retained this seat until 1925. He was noted for his industry as a deputy and in government posts. He served as president of the Customs Commission, then as Rapporteur General of the budget. He held the following prominent ministerial posts: *

, 3 November 1910 – 2 March 1911, in the second government of

Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...

. * Minister of Finance, 27 June 1911 – 22 March 1913, in Briand's third government. *

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, 22 March-8 December 1913, in the government of Louis Barthou. At this time, there were large protests and demonstrations against the "Three Years Law" for military conscription. * Minister of Finance, 12 September 1917 – 20 January 1920, in the second government of

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (, also , ; 28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A key figure of the Independent Radicals, he was a ...

. He was responsible for negotiating reparations from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. His policy was characterised by his famous formula: "The Boche will pay!" His efforts were motivated by his concerns over France's growing

budget deficit Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit; the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budget ...

and subsequent

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

Personal life

In 1924, Klotz published his memoirs of this period, ''De La Guerre à La Paix'' (''From the War to the Peace''). Klotz was a member of several civic and charitable societies, including the Society for the Defense of Children, the Prison Society and the Central Committee for Labour.

Conviction and death

After his retirement, he became involved in dubious and risky financial speculations and lost all his money. In 1929, he was convicted of passing bad checks and sentenced to imprisonment for two years. He died less than a year later. With no further hope of settlement, his creditors seized his Paris residence at 9

Rue de Tilsitt Rue de Tilsitt is a street in the 8th and 17th arrondissements of Paris. It is one of two streets which form a circle around the Place de l’Étoile (renamed the Place Charles-de-Gaulle in 1970) - the other is the Rue de Presbourg. It was n ...

, which he had inherited from his brother. His lack of financial acumen was noted years earlier by Clemenceau, who reportedly commented "My finance minister is the only

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

who knows nothing about money."Horne, Alistair. ''To Lose a Battle''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klotz, Louis-Lucien 1868 births 1930 deaths Writers from Paris Politicians from Paris Alsatian Jews Jewish French politicians Radical Party (France) politicians French interior ministers French Ministers of Finance 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 Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French Senators of the Third Republic Senators of Somme (department) French journalists French male non-fiction writers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery