André Vidal (18 December 1908 – 27 September 1984) was a French engineer and politician. Vidal was born in

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given nam ...

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

on 18 December 1908, to a middle-class family with origins in

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect of Occitan) is the sole subprefecture of the Tarn department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. It lies in the former province of Languedoc, although not in the former region of Lang ...

Mazamet Mazamet (; Languedocien: ''Masamet'') is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. It is the second-largest component of the Castres-Mazamet metropolitan area. Geography Mazamet is situated on the northern slope of the Montagne Noire ...

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

, and Gersoise. He attended

École Polytechnique 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 The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern Franc ...

and became an engineer. In 1932, Vidal founded a consulting company, and served in the French military 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Vidal was elected to 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 ...

in 1958 and served until the end of his term in 1962. He represented Tarn's 2nd constituency on behalf of the

Union for the New Republic The Union for the New Republic (french: L'Union pour la nouvelle République, UNR), was a French political party founded on 1 October 1958 that supported Prime Minister Charles de Gaulle in the 1958 elections. History The UNR won 206 of 579 s ...

. In the next election cycle, Vidal ran as an independent candidate, and was unseated by

Antonin Tirefort Antonin Jean André Tirefort (14 June 1899 – 18 April 1969) was a French politician. Tirefort was born in Ferrières, Tarn, on 14 June 1899 to a carpenter father and a grocer mother. He attended a military academy and served during World War ...

. Vidal also contested the 1968 legislative elections, which saw the defeat of Tirefort's successor,

Jacques Limouzy Jacques Limouzy (29 August 1926 – 7 November 2021) was a French politician. Limouzy was first elected to the National Assembly in 1967, to replace Antonin Tirefort Antonin Jean André Tirefort (14 June 1899 – 18 April 1969) was a French pol ...

. Thereafter, Vidal retired from electoral politics, and ran the Center for Applied Psychology, which he had established. Vidal died in Paris on 27 September 1984, aged 75.

References

1908 births 1984 deaths Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Union for the New Republic politicians French military personnel of World War II 20th-century French engineers People from Constantine, Algeria French people of colonial Algeria École Polytechnique alumni {{Tarn-politician-stub