Charles Celier (1912 - 1 November 1992) was a
French politician who served as the vice president and Chairman of the Administration Committee of the
World Scout Committee
The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...
.
Background
Son of the historian
Léonce Celier, Charles Celier was a Scout in
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
with the abbot
Paul Marie André Richaud
Paul-Marie-André Richaud (16 April 1887 – 5 February 1968) was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Bordeaux from 1950 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.
Biography
Paul Richaud was ...
, then head of the 25th Paris Group of
Scouts de France
Scouts et Guides de France (''Scouts and Guides of France'', SGdF) is the largest Scouting and Guiding association in France. It was formed on 1 September 2004 from the merger of two Roman Catholic Scouting organizations: the Guides de France ( ...
.
In the 1930s, Celier joined the headquarters as Deputy National Scout Commissioner to
Michel Blanchon
Michel may refer to:
* Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name)
* MÃchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers)
* MÃchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
, then as member of the Conseil National, in charge of finance of the ''
Conseil d'État
In France, the (; Council of State) is a governmental body that acts both as legal adviser to the executive branch and as the supreme court for administrative justice, which is one of the two branches of the French judiciary system. Establi ...
''. In early 1939, he was appointed Assistant Commissioner of the Conseil National for
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...
.
During
Vichy France
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the Fascism, fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of ...
, he was director of cabinet of the minister
Paul Baudouin
Paul Baudouin (19 December 1894 – 10 February 1964) was a French banker who became a politician and Foreign Minister of France for the last six months of 1940. He was instrumental in arranging a cessation of hostilities between France and Germa ...
, perhaps at the suggestion of
Henry Dhavernas.
Although he became assistant to
Pierre Delsuc in 1944, he quickly opposed him. After
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 ...
, as Deputy International Commissioner of the Scouts de France, he was sent to the United States to study their Scouting.
Having become a
business lawyer, he shared the social and political ideas of
Pierre Goutet. His ascent began in 1956, after the eviction of General
Joseph Lafont
General Michel Laurent Marie Joseph Lafont (1874–1961) was the third Chief Scout of Scouts de France from 1936 to 1948, the first and only Chief Scout of Scoutisme Français from 1940 to 1948, and member of the International Committee of the Wo ...
, Father
Marcel Forestier,
Michel Blanchon
Michel may refer to:
* Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name)
* MÃchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers)
* MÃchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
and others form the National Council.
In 1973, Celier became international commissioner and was commissioned by
Émile-Xavier Visseaux to re-establish links with other associations.
In 1973, Celier was awarded the 75th ''
Bronze Wolf
The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the World Scout Committee (WSC) to acknowledge "outstanding service by an individual to the World Scout Movement". It is the highest honor that can be given a volunteer Scout leader in the world and it is the ...
'', the only distinction of the
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...
, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting.
His archives are in
Riaumont Riaumont (literally meaning "royal mountain") is located on the hill of Riaumont, in the commune of Liévin, in the Pas-de-Calais ''département'' in northern France, in the former province of Artois. It refers to a Benedictine monastic community, ...
.
References
External links
Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award
Scouting and Guiding in France
World Scout Committee members
Politicians from Paris
People of Vichy France
1912 births
1992 deaths
{{France-politician-stub