Antoine Pinay (; 30 December 1891 – 13 December 1994) was a French conservative politician who served as

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...

from 1952 to 1953 and French Foreign Minister from 1955 to 1956.

Life

Antoine Pinay was born on 30 December 1891 in Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise. He was a child of Claude Pinay (5 July 1852 – 4 March 1919), and his wife, Marie Antoinette Besson (10 October 1861 – 23 November 1936). On 25 April 1917, Pinay married Marguerite Fouletier (3 June 1895 – 3 December 1970) and had two daughters and one son, Geneviève (1918–2017), Odette (1920–2015), and Pierre (1922–1964). As a young man, Pinay fought in

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 ...

and injured his arm so that it was paralyzed for the rest of his life. After the war, he managed a small business and in 1929 he was elected mayor of Saint-Chamond, Loire. He was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

in 1936, running as an independent candidate opposed to the Popular Front. In 1938 he was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, where he joined the

Independent Radicals The Independent Radicals () were a centrist or conservative-liberal political current during the French Third Republic. They were slightly to the right of the more famous Radical-Socialist Party, and shared much of its historical radicalism. ...

. On 10 July 1940 he voted to give the Cabinet presided over by Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

authority to draw up a new constitution, effectively ending the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

and establishing

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, ...

. In 1941, Antoine Pinay was appointed to the ''Conseil National'' of the Vichy regime. He was also awarded the

Order of the Francisque Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

. During the occupation, Antoine Pinay remained mayor of Saint-Chamond, although he had been urged by General Georges to move to

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, in order to better protect the residents of this city. Pinay resigned from the ''Conseil National'' within a few months and refused any official position with the Vichy regime, such as the ''préfecture de l'Hérault'' offered by Laval. He also gave several hundreds of identity papers to help Jews and members of the Resistance flee from France to Algiers or Switzerland. An official commission in 1946 recognized his long lasting opposition to the Nazis and the help he gave to the Resistance and released him without charge. In 1944, he was first placed on house arrest, and stripped of his right to be candidate to an election on 5 September 1945. After the intervention of René Cassin, the vice-president of the ''Conseil d'État'', who pointed to his fierce opposition to the German occupation, his citizen rights were restored on 5 October 1945. On 2 June 1946, he could successfully run for election to the ''Assemblée Constituante'' as a moderate candidate. He helped create a conservative party, the

National Center of Independents and Peasants The National Centre of Independents and Peasants (, ; CNIP) is a right-wing agrarian political party in France, founded in 1951 by the merger of the National Centre of Independents (CNI), the heir of the French Republican conservative-liberal ...

(CNIP). He acquired the reputation as one of France's more spirited politicians and in 1952 became prime minister by virtue of being the most popular elected CNIP official. His ministry was seen as the return of the "classical right", discredited since the Liberation. He stabilized the finances of the French nation and the French currency. Antoine Pinay and Konrad Adenauer 1955

In 1952/53 he was one of the founders of Le Cercle Pinay, a secret invitation-only foreign policy forum for conservatives. In 1955, he was one of the participants of the

Messina Conference The Messina Conference of 1955 was a meeting of the six member states of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The conference assessed the progress of the ECSC and, deciding that it was working well, proposed further European integrati ...

, which would lead to the

Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...

in 1957. During the May 1958 crisis precipitated by the

Algerian war The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

, he supported

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

's return to power and approved of the Fifth Republic's constitution. He served as finance minister until 1960. In 1973, he was made ''médiateur de la République'' (

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

) by President

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( ; ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously served as Prime Minister of France under President Charles de Gaulle from 19 ...

. Having died aged , he is the third longest lived national state leader in history, behind only Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum and

Celâl Bayar Mahmut Celâlettin "Celâl" Bayar (16 May 1883 – 22 August 1986) was a Turkish economist and politician who was the third president of Turkey from 1950 to 1960. He previously served as the prime minister of Turkey from 1937 to 1939. Bayar ...

. He died 17 days before his 103rd birthday, and was buried in Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise.PINAY Antoine (1891–1994) – Cimetières de France et d'ailleurs
. Landrucimetieres.fr. Retrieved on 13 February 2018. From 14 December 1990, when former

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Zhang Qun Zhang Qun; also known as Zhang Yuejun (張岳軍) (May 9, 1889 – December 14, 1990) was a Chinese politician and premier of the Republic of China and a prominent member of the Kuomintang. He served as secretary general to the President of the ...

died until his own death, Pinay was the world's oldest living former head of government.

Pinay's ministry, 8 March 1952 – 8 January 1953

* Antoine Pinay – President of the Council and Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs *

Henri Queuille Henri Queuille (; 31 March 1884 – 15 June 1970) was a French Radical politician prominent in the Third and Fourth Republics. After World War II, he served three times as Prime Minister. Governments First ministry (11 September 1948 – 28 O ...

– Vice President of the Council *

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. ...

– Minister of Foreign Affairs *

René Pleven René Jean Pleven (; 15 April 190113 January 1993) was a notable political figure of the French Resistance and Fourth Republic. An early associate of Jean Monnet then member of the Free French led by Charles de Gaulle, he took a leading role i ...

– Minister of National Defense * Charles Brune – Minister of the Interior * Jean-Marie Louvel – Minister of Commerce and Energy * Pierre Garet – Minister of Labour and Social Security * Léon Martinaud-Deplat – Minister of Justice * Pierre-Olivier Lapie – Minister of National Education * Emmanuel Temple – Minister of Veterans and War Victims * Camille Laurens – Minister of Agriculture *

Pierre Pflimlin Pierre Eugène Jean Pflimlin (; 5 February 1907 – 27 June 2000) was a French Christian Democrat politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic for a few weeks in 1958, before being replaced by Charles de Gaulle during the ...

– Minister of Overseas France * André Morice – Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism * Paul Ribeyre – Minister of Public Health and Population * Eugène Claudius-Petit – Minister of Reconstruction and Town Planning * Roger Duchet – Minister of Posts * Jean Letourneau – Minister of Relations with Partner States Changes * 11 August 1952 – André Marie succeeds Lapie as Minister of National Education.

Life

Pinay's ministry, 8 March 1952 – 8 January 1953

References

Further reading