Christian Pineau (; 14 October 1904 – 5 April 1995) was a noted

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

fighter, who later served an important term as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 1956 through 1958.

Life and career

Pineau was born in 1904 in Chaumont-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. His father was a colonel in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

died when he was a young child. His mother married again to the French playwright

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; ; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

. Later, Christian Pineau would say that it was Giraudoux who gave him his love of writing. He was educated at the

École alsacienne The École alsacienne is a co-educational private school located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. The school was founded by a group of French Alsatians after the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. It then became a model for reforming th ...

in Paris and graduated with degrees in law and in political science. In 1931 he joined the staff of the

Bank of France The Bank of France ( ) is the national central bank for France within the Eurosystem. It was the French central bank between 1800 and 1998, issuing the French franc. It does not translate its name to English, and thus calls itself ''Banque de F ...

, and later worked for the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. In 1937 he founded the journal '' Banque et Bourse''. A

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 ...

leader who established a network called Phalanx, Pineau helped found the underground newspaper ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

''. He was a close ally of

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 ...

and went on dangerous secret missions passing communications between occupied France and the

Free France Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

headquarters in London. He was arrested by the ''

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

'' in September 1942 but escaped. He was arrested again in 1943 and evaded a death sentence through forged identity papers which hid his true identity. He was sent to the

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

, and remained there until it was liberated by American soldiers in 1945. Pineau represented the Sarthe department as a

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

in the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...

from 1946 to 1958. After the war, he served as a minister in French governments, 1945–1958. He was minister of supply in

's government (1945) and minister of public works (1947–1950) in various governments. Christian Pineau-David Ben Gurion 1959

Pineau was finance minister for a short time in 1948. He was designated 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 ...

by President

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 ...

after the February 1955 resignation of Pierre Mendès-France, but the National Assembly refused to ratify his cabinet by 312 votes against 268; his prime ministership lasted for two days between 17 and 19 February 1955. As

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

(February 1956 – May 1958), Pineau was responsible for handling the

Suez crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

and for signing 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 ...

on behalf of France. With Guy Mollet, he visited

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In October 1956, he signed the

Protocol of Sèvres The Protocol of Sèvres (French, ''Protocole de Sèvres'') was a secret agreement reached between the governments of Israel, France and the United Kingdom during discussions held between 22 and 24 October 1956 at Sèvres, France. The protocol co ...

with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

on behalf of France. Pineau was a lifelong advocate of

European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...

. Pineau is buried in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

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 ...

Bibliography

Pineau wrote several political books and memoirs: *''La simple vérité, regard sur la période 1940–1945'' (''the simple truth, a view of the period 1940–45''), Editions Julliard *''Khrouchtchev'' (''Khrushchev'') Perrin, 1964 *''Suez'', Robert Laffont, 1976 *''Mon cher député'', Julliard, 1959 *''Le grand pari, l'aventure du Traité de Rome'' (with Christiane Rimbaud) He also wrote children's books: * ''Plume et le saumon'' (''Feather and the salmon'') * ''L'ourse aux pattons verts'' (''The she-bear with green paws'') * ''Histoire de la forêt de Bercé'' (''Story of the Bercé forest'') * ''La planète aux enfants perdus'' (''The planet of lost children'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pineau, Christian 1904 births 1995 deaths People from Chaumont, Haute-Marne French Section of the Workers' International politicians Foreign ministers of France Finance ministers of France Ministers of transport of France 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 Members of Parliament for Sarthe Members of the General Confederation of Labour (France) Writers from Grand Est French Resistance members Buchenwald concentration camp survivors French people of the First Indochina War French people of the Algerian War Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Companions of the Liberation Recipients of the Resistance Medal Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery