Adrien Tixier (31 January 1893 in Folles (

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; oc, Nauta Vinhana, ; English: Upper Vienne) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve departments that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitai ...

) – 18 February 1946 in Paris) was a French politician and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

who was the Free French ambassador to the United States.

Career

He was the son of Pierre-Edouard Tixier, a blacksmith, and Marie-Françoise Derosier. Destined for a career in education, he studied at the ''école normale'' (teachers' college) at Châteauroux and became a teacher of technical subjects. In August 1914, he was enlisted as a reserve officer and served in the First World War. Shortly after being called up, he was wounded in the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

and underwent the amputation of his left arm. He returned to his teaching career in August 1915 and became a senior teacher at the École supérieure professionnelle in the town of Albi. Active in the Socialist Party, he met Albert Thomas and held from 1920 various offices within the International Labour Office in Geneva, including that of CEO in 1936. On 20 June 1940, with Professor

Edgard Milhaud Edgard Milhaud (14 April 1873 – 4 September 1964) was a French professor of economics, a militant socialist, and a promoter and theoretician of social economy. Life Isaac Edgard Milhaud was born on 14 April 1873 in Nîmes, Gard, France. His p ...

, and Jean-Amédée Weber, he sent a telegram to Marshal Pétain in protest of the request for an armistice and asked for the continuation of the war alongside the British. Using with false papers, he sailed for the United States, via Spain and Portugal, as representative of the International Labour Office. He joined General de Gaulle, who charged him in November 1941 of representing the Free France in Washington, where he was appreciated by the

Franklin Roosevelt administration Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. He served in the French Committee of National Liberation of Algeria the position of Commissioner of Labor and Social Welfare from 7 June 1943 to 9 November 1943 and Social Affairs from 9 November 1943 to 9 September 1944. He became the first

Minister of Social Affairs A Ministry of Social Affairs or Department of Social Affairs is the common name for a government department found in states where the government is divided into ministries or departments. While there is some variation in the responsibilities of s ...

. He was appointed

interior minister 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 ...

in September 1944 in the Provisional Government of France, led by General de Gaulle, and held the post until January 1946. His task was to restore the republican legality in the disorganised France. He was a co-signer of the Ordinance of 4 October 1945, which established Social Security. He founded the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS). He supported de Gaulle, along with Robert Lacoste, the Minister of Production, during his visit to Oradour-sur-Glane on 5 March 1945. He was then elected in September 1945, to the General Council from Bessines-sur-Gartempe, and in October 1945, he became a socialist member of the

in the First National Constituent Assembly. He chaired the General Council of Haute-Vienne. He was buried in Folles.

References

External links

Colloque Adrien Tixier 3–4 mars 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tixier, Adrien 1893 births 1946 deaths People from Haute-Vienne Politicians from Nouvelle-Aquitaine French Section of the Workers' International politicians French interior ministers Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) French military personnel of World War I French expatriates in the United States