Jules Salvador Moch (15 March 1893 – 1 August 1985) was a French politician.

Biography

Moch was born into a renowned French Jewish military family, the son of Captain Gaston Moch and Rébecca Alice Pontremoli. His grandfather was Colonel Jules Moch. His upbringing occurred during a growing socialist movement in France. He was in Polytechnique along with

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...

. As an engineer ('' polytechnicien'') who took part in the X-Crise Group, he was a socialist member of Parliament for

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

and then

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

from 1928 to 1936 and from 1937 to 1940. He was

Under-secretary of State Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

in prime minister Léon Blum's office (1937) and became

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

in 1938. During

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 ...

Moch was critical of the Vichy French government and was jailed but later was released. He joined and helped organise the Paris underground. He also helped other

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 ...

activities in France. When the Free French Naval Forces was organized, he rallied to

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 ...

in 1942 and participated in the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

toward the Free French Liberation of France with the Allies. After World War II, Moch was a member of the Consultative Assembly (1944) and of the two Constituent National Assemblies (1945–1946) and then of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

(1946–1958 and 1962–1967). He was a

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

eight times during the Fourth Republic, heading the Ministries of Public works and Transportation (1945–1947), Interior (1947–1950), and Defence (1950–1951). As Transport Minister, he contributed to the rebuilding of railways, ports, roads, aviation, and the Navy. As Interior Minister, he had to deal with the communist-inspired great strikes in November 1947 and showed great firmness. In the Defence Ministry, he contributed to the modernisation of the army, organised French participation in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and the implementation of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. He also suggested and participated in the forming of the Baghdad Pact for the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. He fought the Gaullist and Communist Parties during the Fourth Republic and was one of the leaders of the '' Troisième Force''. Moch was

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

from 1949 to 1950, and France's delegate at the UN Disarmament Commission from 1951 to 1960. As

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

of the Foreign Affairs Committee, he opposed the European Community of Defence, which was defeated by the National Assembly in 1954. His last ministerial post was in Pierre Pflimlin's government in May 1958 where he played an important role in the May 1958 crisis of French Algeria, as Interior Minister. He left the Socialist Party in 1975. He was married to Germaine Picard, one of the first woman lawyers of France. She was also an active advocate of the

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

movement in France and Europe. Though other noted individuals lay claim, it is alleged that the name

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

was officially "coined" after a speech he made in 1948 over his concern on the growing rift that developed between the Allies of Western Europe and the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

Forces of Eastern Europe.

Publications

He has published: *''Confrontations'' (Doctrines – Déviations – Expériences – Espérances), Gallimard 1952 *''Yougoslavie, terre d'expérience'', éd. du Rocher, Monaco, 1953 *''Histoire du réarmement allemand depuis 1950'', Robert Laffont, 1954 *''Alerte, le problème crucial de la Communauté Européenne de défense'', Robert Laffont *''La folie des hommes'' (about the atomic bomb), Robert Laffont, 1954 *''En 1961, Paix en Algérie'', Robert Laffont *''Non à la force de frappe'', Robert Laffont, 1963 *''Le Front Populaire'', Perrin 1971 *''Rencontre avec Charles de Gaulle'', 1971 *''Une si longue vie'', témoignages, Robert Laffont, 1976 *''Le communisme jamais'', Plon 1978

Biography

*Eric Méchoulan has written a book: ''Jules Moch un socialiste dérangeant'', published by Bruylant. *Autobiography of Jules Moch: "Jules Moch" une si longue vie, published by Robert Laffont 1976, Paris

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moch, Jules 1893 births 1985 deaths Politicians from Paris Jewish French politicians French Section of the Workers' International politicians Deputy prime ministers of France French interior ministers Ministers of defence of France Ministers of public works of France Ministers of transport of France Secretaries of State of France Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 15th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the Provisional Consultative Assembly 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 Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Drôme Members of Parliament for Hérault The Vichy 80 École Polytechnique alumni French military personnel of World War II French Resistance members Jews in the French resistance