Joseph-Marie-Auguste Caillaux (; 30 March 1863 – 22 November 1944) was a French politician of the Third Republic. He was a leader of the

French Radical Party The Radical Party (, ), officially the Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party ( ), is a liberal and social-liberal political party in France. Since 1971, to prevent confusion with the Radical Party of the Left (PRG), it has also bee ...

and Minister of Finance, but his progressive views in opposition to the military alienated him from conservative elements. He was accused of corruption, but was cleared by a parliamentary commission. This political weakness strengthened the right wing elements in the Radical Party.

Biography

He was the son of

Eugène Caillaux Eugène Alexandre Caillaux (; 10 September 1822 – 8 August 1896) was a French engineer and politician. He was Minister of Public Works from 1874 until 1876, then Minister of Finance from May to November 1877. He was the father of the politician ...

. After studying law and following lectures at the

École des Sciences Politiques Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

, he entered the civil service in 1888 as an inspector of finance, and spent most of his official career in

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 ...

. Standing as a Republican candidate in the elections of 1898 for the department of the

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

, in opposition to the Duc de la Rochefoucault-Bisaccia, 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 ...

by 12,929 votes to 11,737. He 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

Waldeck-Rousseau Pierre Marie René Ernest Waldeck-Rousseau (; 2 December 184610 August 1904) was a French Republican politician who served for three years as the Prime Minister of France. Early life Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau was born in Nantes, Brittany. His ...

Cabinet, and after its fall it was not until the Clemenceau Ministry of 1906 that he returned to office, once more with the portfolio of Finance. During the

revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers The Revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers was a mass movement in 1907 in Languedoc and the Pyrénées-Orientales of France that was repressed by the government of Georges Clemenceau. It was caused by a serious crisis in winemaking at the start of th ...

on 22 May 1907 Caillaux tabled a bill on wine fraud. The text submitted to Parliament provided for an annual declaration of their harvest by wine growers, prohibition of second-cycle sweetening, and control and taxation of purchases of sugar. In 1911 he became prime minister. The leader of the

Radicals Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

, he favored a policy of conciliation with Germany during his premiership from 1911 to 1912, which led to the maintenance of the peace during the

Second Moroccan Crisis The Agadir Crisis, Agadir Incident, or Second Moroccan Crisis, was a brief crisis sparked by the deployment of a substantial force of French troops in the interior of Morocco in July 1911 and the deployment of the German gunboat to Agadir, a ...

of 1911. He and his ministers were forced to resign on 11 January 1912, after it was revealed that he had secretly negotiated with Germany without the knowledge of President

Armand Fallières Clément Armand Fallières (; 6 November 1841 – 22 June 1931) was a French statesman who was President of France from 1906 to 1913. Clément Armand Fallières was a symbol of republicanism in the French Third Republic. He was born into ...

. Nevertheless, thanks to his undoubted qualities as a financier, he remained a great power in French politics. He fought the Three Years' Service bill with the utmost tenacity. Although that measure became law, it was he who finally, on the financial aspect of that bill, brought about the downfall of the Barthou Ministry in the autumn of 1913. While the

Entente Cordiale The Entente Cordiale (; ) comprised a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and the French Third Republic, French Republic which saw a significant improvement in Fr ...

was in effect, it was impossible for Caillaux to return to the position of prime minister, but he joined the succeeding Doumergue Cabinet as Minister of Finance. As a financial expert, he had long identified himself with a great and necessary reform in the fiscal policy of France—the introduction of the principle of an income tax. Throughout the winter of 1913, he campaigned for this principle. His advocacy of an income tax, and his uncertain and erratic championship of proletarian ideas, alarmed all the conservative elements in the country, and throughout the winter he was attacked with increasing vehemence from the platform and through the press. Those attacks reached their highest point of bitterness in a series of disclosures in the newspaper ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'' of a more or less personal nature. Henriette Caillaux

In 1914, ''Le Figaro'' started the publication of love letters that had been sent by Caillaux to his second wife Henriette while he was still married to the first, Berthe Gueydan. In March 1914, Madame Caillaux in turn shot to death Gaston Calmette, the editor of ''Le Figaro'', and Caillaux resigned as Minister of Finance. In July 1914, Madame Caillaux was acquitted on the grounds that she committed a ''crime passionel''. Caillaux became the leader of a peace party in the Assembly during

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 ...

. After a mission to South America, he returned in 1915, and at once began to lobby. He financed newspapers, and did everything he possibly could behind the scenes to consolidate his position. He became acquainted with the Bolos and the Malvys of political and journalistic life. By the spring of 1917, he had become in the eyes of the public "''l'homme de la défaite''", the man who was willing to effect a compromise peace with Germany at the expense of Great Britain. However, the advent of Clemenceau to power killed all his hopes. This led to his arrest for treason in 1917. After a long delay, he was convicted of high treason by the High Court of the Senate, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, the term he had already served. He was also forbidden to reside in French territory for five years and deprived of civil rights for ten years. Again rehabilitated after World War I, Caillaux served at various times in the left wing governments of the 1920s."Caillaux's Political Resurrection", ''The Literary Digest'', 2 May 1925. On 10 July 1940, Caillaux voted as a Senator in favour of granting the cabinet presided 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, thereby 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, ...

. Joseph Caillaux is interred 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 ...

in Paris. His political collaborators included the Nord region journalist and politician

Émile Roche Émile Roche (Estaires, 24 September 1893 – 1990), was a French economist, radical politician and journalist. He was born the son of a grocer, who entered politics after the First World War. He was best known as a supporter of the politician Jo ...

Caillaux's Ministry, 27 June 1911 – 11 January 1912

* Joseph Caillaux – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior and Worship *

Justin de Selves Justin Germain Casimir de Selves (; 19 July 1848 in Toulouse – 12 January 1934 in Paris) was a French politician. He held an officer rank in the Franco-Prussian war. He was Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs from 1890 to 1896. He becam ...

– Minister of Foreign Affairs *

Adolphe Messimy Adolphe Marie Messimy (; 31 January 1869 – 1 September 1935) was a French politician and general. He served as Minister of War in 1911–12 and then again for a few months during the outbreak of and first three weeks of the First World War. H ...

– Minister of War * Louis-Lucien Klotz – Minister of Finance * René Renoult – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions * Jean Cruppi – Minister of Justice *

Théophile Delcassé Théophile Delcassé (; 1 March 185222 February 1923) was a French politician who served as foreign minister from 1898 to 1905. He is best known for his hatred of German Empire, Germany and efforts to secure alliances with Russian Empire, Russ ...

– Minister of Marine *

Théodore Steeg Théodore Steeg (; 19 December 1868 – 19 December 1950) was a lawyer and professor of philosophy who became Prime Minister of France. Steeg entered French politics in 1904 as a radical socialist, although his views were generally moderate. He ...

– Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts *

Jules Pams Jules Pams (14 August 1852 – 12 May 1930) was a French politician who was a deputy from 1893 to 1904, then a senator from 1904 to 1930. He was Minister of Agriculture from 1911 to 1913 and Minister of the Interior from 1917 to 1920. In 1913 he w ...

– Minister of Agriculture *

Albert Lebrun Albert François Lebrun (; 29 August 1871 – 6 March 1950) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1932 to 1940. He was the last president of the Third Republic. He was a member of the centre-right Democratic Republica ...

– Minister of Colonies * Victor Augagneur – Minister of Public Works, Posts, and Telegraphs *

Maurice Couyba Charles Maurice Couyba (1 January 1866 – 18 November 1931) was a French professor and politician. He was a deputy from 1897 to 1907, then a senator from 1907 to 1920. He was Minister of Commerce and Industry from 1911 to 1912, and was briefly ...

– Minister of Commerce and Industry

Works

* ''The Fiscal Question in France,'' King, 1900.
''Whither France? Whither Europe?''
T. Fisher Unwin, 1923.

Articles

"Economics and Politics in Europe,"
''Foreign Affairs,'' Vol. 1, No. 2, 15 December 1922. * "France's Needs and Europe's Danger," ''The Living Age,'' 10 February 1923. * "Destiny Has Changed Horses," ''The Living Age,'' 4 October 1924. * "A United States of Europe," ''The Living Age,'' 6 June 1925. * "A Gospel of Firmness and Vigor," ''The Living Age,'' 31 July 1926.
"Whither is Civilisation Drifting?,"
''

The Windsor Magazine ''The Windsor Magazine'' was a monthly illustrated publication produced by Ward Lock & Co from January 1895 to September 1939 (537 issues). The title page described it as "An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women". It was bound as six-monthly ...

,'' Vol. LXX, June/November 1929.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caillaux, Joseph 1863 births 1944 deaths People from Le Mans Democratic Republican Alliance politicians Radical Party (France) politicians Prime ministers of France Deputy prime ministers of France French interior ministers Finance ministers of France Government ministers of France Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 8th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for Sarthe French senators of the Third Republic Senators of Sarthe Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery