André Marie (3 December 1897 – 12 June 1974) was a French Radical politician who served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

during the Fourth Republic in 1948.

Biography

Born at

Honfleur Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from Le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Hon ...

, Calvados, the young André Marie studied at primary and secondary level there, going on to the Lycée Corneille,Lycée Pierre Corneille de Rouen - History
/ref> when his parents moved to Rouen in 1908. While preparing to apply to the École Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines, he was mobilised at the end of 1916. By the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he commanded a battery of 75 men. He received two light injuries and numerous commendations. He was decorated with the

Croix de guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

with palm. He started work as a lawyer in 1922. He was elected Deputy for Seine-Inférieure (now Seine-Maritime), holding his seat in the

Palais Bourbon The Palais Bourbon () is the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament. It is in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the Rive Gauche of the Seine across from the Place de la Concorde. The offi ...

from 1928 to 1962. In 1933, André Marie entered the government as Under-Secretary of State to

Albert Sarraut Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic. Biography Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. On 14 March 1907 Sarraut ...

, responsible for Alsace-Lorraine. He served in several Under-Secretarial posts, and represented France at the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) 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 (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. As

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

escalated, André Marie, a reserve captain, was one of several parliamentarians who enlisted voluntarily. An artillery captain, he was decorated with a second

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

, taken prisoner, and imprisoned at the

Oflag An Oflag (from ) was a type of prisoner of war camp for Officer (armed forces), officers which the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army established in World War I in accordance with the requirements of the Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907), 1899 ...

Saarburg Saarburg (, ) is a city of the Trier-Saarburg district, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the banks of the river Saar in the hilly country a few kilometers upstream from the Saar's junction with the Moselle. Now known as a touris ...

. He was therefore absent for the vote of 10 July 1940, which empowered

Marshal Pétain Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated of ...

and instituted the regime of

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

. Marie was freed in 1941, having served as an officer in both World Wars. Refusing

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

politics on his return to Seine-Maritime, he resigned all his elected offices, and in a letter to his constituents, explained that he could not exercise his mandate while the people could not be consulted freely. As a member of the Georges-France resistance network, he was denounced and arrested on 12 September 1943 by occupation authorities, imprisoned at Compiègne, then deported to a camp at Buchenwald on 16 December 1943, where he remained until the liberation of the camp by American troops on 11 April 1945. He had lost 30 kilograms, and had suffered a heart infection and a liver infection. On his return to France, André Marie quickly regained his place in political life, both at departmental and national levels.

Ministerial career

Minister of Justice

In 1947, he was appointed

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 ...

in the Ramadier ministry, and presided over the last trials in the High Court of collaborators.

Prime Minister of France

The

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

called on him to become Prime Minister, replacing

Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 1886 – 4 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born France, French statesman. Schuman was a Christian democrat, Christian democratic (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. ...

on 27 July 1948, but he was obliged to resign a month later.

Subsequent ministerial offices

He accepted the post of

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

in the Queuille cabinet in 1948, and was again named

, refusing to pursue the Communists after the miners' strikes of 1948. On 3 February 1949, as Minister of Justice, he was called to account in the National Assembly on the matter of the economic collaborator Pierre Brice. The radical Deputy Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie declared: "Men who have amassed fortunes as a result of collaboration are now largely free to enjoy the fruits of their treason because the government, indulgent towards collaborators, has led a politic of repression against the working class." Weakened by the affair, André Marie resigned on 13 February 1949. He then served as Minister of Education, from August 1951 until June 1954. He brought about the Marie and Barangé laws, in support of free education. An ardent proponent of public education, he brought about the law, still in place, which makes students of the écoles normales supérieures trainee civil servants: in exchange for a monthly salary, they may be asked to serve the government at any point during the ten years following their matriculation.

Municipal office

As Mayor of Barentin from 1945 to 1974, he installed the statues of the town's famous "street museum". He died, aged 76, in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

Ministry (26 July – 5 September 1948)

*André Marie - President of the Council * Pierre-Henri Teitgen - Vice President of the Council *

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of socialist l ...

- Vice President of the Council *

- Minister of Foreign Affairs *

René Mayer René Mayer (; 4 May 189513 December 1972) was a French Radical politician of the Fourth Republic who served briefly as Prime Minister during 1953. Mayer was born and died in Paris. In 1939-1940 he was an associate of Jean Monnet in London ...

- Minister of National Defense * Jules Moch - Minister of the Interior *

Paul Reynaud Paul Reynaud (; 15 October 1878 – 21 September 1966) was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his economic liberalism and vocal opposition to Nazi Germany. Reynaud opposed the Munich Agreement of Septembe ...

- Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs * Robert Lacoste - Minister of Commerce and Industry * Daniel Mayer - Minister of Labour and Social Security * Robert Lecourt - Minister of Justice *

Yvon Delbos Yvon Delbos (7 May 1885 – 15 November 1956) was a French Radical-Socialist Party politician and minister. Biography Delbos was born in Thonac, Dordogne, and entered a career as a journalist, and became a member of the Radical-Socialist ...

- Minister of National Education * André Maroselli - Minister of Veterans and War Victims * Pierre Pflimlin - Minister of Agriculture * Paul Coste-Floret - Minister of Overseas France *

Christian Pineau Christian Pineau (; 14 October 1904 – 5 April 1995) was a noted French Resistance fighter, who later served an important term as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1956 through 1958. Life and career Pineau was born in 1904 in Chaumont-en-Bass ...

- Minister of Public Works and Transport * Pierre Schneiter - Minister of Public Health and Population *

René Coty Gustave Jules René Coty (; 20 March 188222 November 1962) was President of France from 1954 to 1959. He was the second and last president of the Fourth French Republic. Early life and politics René Coty was born in Le Havre and studied at th ...

- Minister of Reconstruction and Town Planning * Henri Queuille - Minister of State *

Paul Ramadier Paul Ramadier (17 March 1888 – 14 October 1961) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France in 1947. Biography The son of a psychiatrist, Ramadier graduated in law from the University of Toulouse and started his profess ...

- Minister of State

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marie, Andre 1897 births 1974 deaths People from Honfleur Radical Party (France) politicians Prime ministers of France Deputy prime ministers of France Ministers of justice of France Ministers of national education of France Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 15th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1946) Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Seine-Maritime Mayors of places in Normandy Lycée Pierre-Corneille alumni French military personnel of World War I French military personnel of World War II French Resistance members Commanders of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)