Pierre-Marie-Élie-Louis Nouailhetas (1894–1985) was a French naval officer who served as the governor (''gouverneur'') of French Somaliland (''Côte française des Somalis'') from 7 August 1940 until 21 October 1942 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Nouailhetas was born at Cercoux on 17 December 1894, the second son and child of Louis Nouailhetas, an engineer officer in the navy, and Marie-Anne-Françoise Bertet. He entered the

École Navale 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, Savoi ...

in 1913. He received two citations 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 ...

(1914–18). In 1925, he left the navy to join the colonial service. His first posting was as an adjutant (''adjoint'') at

Lạng Sơn Lạng Sơn () is a city in far northern Vietnam, which is the capital of Lạng Sơn Province. It is accessible by road and rail from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, and it is the northernmost point on National Route 1. History Due to its ge ...

. In 1927, he was promoted the rank of administrator (''administrateur'') in charge of Tuyên Quang Province. He later served as chief of staff (''chef de cabinet'') to the governor of

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...

and then administrator of Bến Tre Province and Cần Thơ Province (1933–36). Between 1936 and 1939 he was the secretary-general (''secrétaire général'') to the

Governor General of Indochina European (as well as Japanese and Chinese) colonial administrators had historically been responsible for the territory of French Indochina, an area equivalent to modern-day Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the Chinese city of Zhanjiang. List o ...

. In August 1940, following the fall of France, he was named by the

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 ...

to replace Gaëtan Germain as governor of French Somaliland. He flew into the colony, already threatened with a British interdict, on 2 September. On 18 September the British established a blockade and on 25 September they bombed the capital,

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

, from the air. This was the prompt for Nouailhetas to institute a brutal reign of terror. Europeans suspected of contact with the enemy were interned at

Obock Obock (also Obok, aa, Hayyú) is a small port town in Djibouti. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura, where it opens out into the Gulf of Aden. The town is home to an airstrip and has ferries to Djibouti City. The Frenc ...

, while 45 others were condemned to death or forced labour, mostly ''in absentia''. On 7 May 1941, Nouailhetas issued circular letter No. 457, which ordered any native caught carrying a message from the anti-Vichyists (British or

Gaullist Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle with ...

) to be shot by a firing squad. That month, six illiterate Somalis were shot without trial as "Gaullist traitors" to set an example. On 8 June 1941, the British gave Nouailhetas an ultimatum: they would lift the blockade and provide one month's worth of provisions if the colony declared for De Gaulle; otherwise the blockade would be tightened. Nouailhetas wrote to British authorities on 15 June about the high rate of infant mortality owing to malnutrition in the territory, but he rejected the British terms. When negotiations resumed with Nouailhetas later in the summer, the British offered to evacuate the garrison and European civilians to another French colony upon surrender. The French governor informed them that he would destroy the colony's railroads and port facilities before surrendering. All these negotiations came to nothing. In September 1942, on account of reports of his brutality and intractability, Nouailhetas was recalled to Vichy and forced to retire without a pension. Following the war, he escaped to Portugal. During the post-war '' Épuration'', he was sentenced to death ''in absentia''. He returned to face a military tribunal and was acquitted on 17 July 1953, which sparked outrage in Djibouti. He died in obscurity in 1985.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nouailhetas, Pierre 1894 births 1985 deaths