Auguste-Laurent Burdeau (; 10 September 185112 December 1894) was a French

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was the son of a laborer at

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. Forced from childhood to earn his own living, he was enabled to secure an education by bursarships at the

Lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

at Lyon and at the

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on Rue Saint-Jacques (Paris), rue Saint-Jacques in central Par ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1870 he was at the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

, but enlisted in the army, and was wounded and taken prisoner in 1871 (during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

). In 1874 he became professor of

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and translated several works of

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in '' ...

and of

Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( ; ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is known for his 1818 work '' The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the manife ...

into French. He was author of a moral instruction text book used in

Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye () is a commune in the north-central French department of Yonne. It is located in an area historically known as Puisaye. In the early 1970s the Château de la Folie, north of the village (halfway to Mézilles) was home ...

. His extraordinary aptitude for work secured for him the position of chef de cabinet under

Paul Bert Paul Bert (17 October 1833 – 11 November 1886) was a French zoologist, physiologist and politician. He is sometimes given the nickname "Father of Aviation Medicine". Life Bert was born at Auxerre ( Yonne). He studied law, earning a doctorate ...

, the minister of education, in 1880s. In 1885 he was elected deputy for the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

, and distinguished himself in financial questions. In 1887, he served as rapporteur for the education budget, and he was the general rapporteur for the budget in 1889. He was several times minister, and became

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in the cabinet of Casimir-Perier (from 3 November 1893 to 22 May 1894). On 5 July 1894 he was elected president of the chamber of deputies. He died on 12 December 1894, supposedly worn out with overwork. He considered hard work a fundamental ingredient of civilization.

French policy on Algeria

The budget report presented to the Chamber of Deputies on 4 December 1891 by Auguste Burdeau was one of the major events in French policy discussions on Algeria. During his two-hour speech, he provided a more general analysis of French policy in Algeria. He feared bringing colonial subjects into contact with imperial culture and refused to allow them full participation in that culture. Burdeau's examination of problems of indigenous people within French nation helped to shape French policy on Algeria.

References

* https://www.leonore.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/ui/notice/60488 * https://www.nytimes.com/1894/12/17/archives/funeral-of-auguste-burdeau-carried-to-the-grave-in-the-same-hearse.html * https://www.nytimes.com/1894/12/15/archives/homage-to-auguste-burdeau.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Burdeau, Auguste 1851 births 1894 deaths Politicians from Lyon Opportunist Republicans Ministers of marine and the colonies Finance ministers of France Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (France) Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for Rhône Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Lycée Louis-le-Grand teachers French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery