Émile Maurice (8 July 1910 – 13 January 1993) was a French politician and a supporter of

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

's assimilation to France. He was

President of the General Council of Martinique The President of the General Council of Martinique was the elected head of the General Council, the assembly that governed the assembly governing the overseas department of France. The President of the General Council held executive powers from Mar ...

from 1970 to 1992.

Biography

Émile Maurice began his political career in 1957 when he was elected general councillor of Saint-Joseph. He was a co-founder of the Martinician Progressive Party with

Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He ...

in 1958. He was elected mayor of Saint-Joseph in 1959, which he remained until his death in 1993. In 1958, Maurice, who was a

Gaullist Gaullism ( ) 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 withdrew French forces from t ...

, finding he disagreed with Aimé Césaire, left the PPM and joined the

Union for the New Republic The Union for the New Republic (, , UNR) was a Gaullist political party in France, formed in support of Charles de Gaulle in the 1958 elections. History The UNR won 189 of 466 seats in the November 1958 elections. In 1962, the UNR grouped ...

federation of Martinique. From then on, Émile Maurice opposed

autonomism Autonomism or ''autonomismo'', also known as autonomist Marxism or autonomous Marxism, is an anti-capitalist social movement and Marxist-based theoretical current that first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist ...

and, with Camille Petit and Victor Sablé, was one of the fiercest defenders of departmental status for Martinique. He was president of the

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...

federation of Martinique for several years, and known as a pillar of the party.

Memorials

A chamber in the High Council of Martinique's assembly building, the in Fort-de-France, is named after him. A bust was dedicated to him in Saint-Joseph, and a street in Fort-de-France.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maurice, Emile Rally for the Republic politicians Martiniquais politicians 20th-century mayors of places in France People from Le François 1910 births 1993 deaths Presidents of French regions and overseas collectivities Mayors of places in Martinique Presidents of the General Council of Martinique