Louis-Paul Aujoulat (28 August 1910 – 1 December 1973) was a French politician and missionary doctor. Following his long and illustrious political career he served as France's representative to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

Early life

Aujoulat was born on 28 August 1910 in

Saïda, Algeria Saïda (, Latn, ar, saʿīda, ) is a communes of Algeria, commune and the capital city of Saïda Province, Algeria. History The city's site has been of military importance ever since the Ancient Rome, Romans built a fort there. Saïda was a stro ...

. He completed his secondary education in Sidi Bel Abbès, where his father taught, before being educated at the

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

in Lille (North of France) in 1928 to follow the Faculty of Medicine course. In 1934, he completed his thesis, which was named the best in his faculty. With his doctorate of medicine, for the next two years he worked with a physiology professor named Legrand and lectured at the local nursing school. He was married in 1936, after which he joined the ''Ad lucem'' Catholic medical foundation, with whom he founded a hospital in Efok, Cameroon. Aujoulat served as director of the foundation from 1936 to 1945.

Political career

Aujoulat was elected to 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 the First College in Cameroon. At the

Palais Bourbon The Palais Bourbon () is the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament. It is in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the Rive Gauche of the Seine across from the Place de la Concorde. The offi ...

, he was appointed Commissioner of overseas territories. Under this post, his most notable achievement was reorganizing the healthcare of the overseas territories. Aujoulat was re-elected in June 1946 and again in

November 1946 The following events occurred in November 1946: November 1, 1946 (Friday) *In what the National Basketball Association (NBA) credits as its first game, the New York Knicks defeated the Toronto Huskies 68–66. The only game scheduled for the ...

. Besides his other post, he was appointed member of the National Defense Commission. Aujoulat assisted the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

in 1946, as a counselor of the French delegation and intervenes on 13 December to approve trusteeship agreements in

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. In November 1948, he abandoned the MRP, thus becoming an independent. Aujoulat was appointed Deputy Secretary of State for Overseas France from 29 October 1949 to 17 February 1950, then Secretary of State for Overseas France from 2 to 12 July. In 1950, Aujoulat chaired the Economic Development Plan and Social Council and its implementing body, the Investment Fund (FIDES). He also led the Catholic Union of International Cooperation (UCCI) and the International Movement for Fraternal Union Among Races and Peoples (UFER). In 1951, he launched his own party, the Cameroonian Democratic Bloc (BDC). He has the support of Prelate René Graffin, who is openly campaigning on his behalf: "All Catholics must, on election day, go to the polls and vote for the good Christian. "However, the BDC will never succeed in developing seriously and competing with the

Union of the Peoples of Cameroon The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon ( - UPC) is a political party in Cameroon. It was one of the main belligerents in the Cameroon War. Foundation The UPC was founded on 10 April 1948, at a meeting in the bar ''Chez Sierra'' in Bassa. Twelve ...

.Thomas Deltombe, Manuel Domergue, Jacob Tatsita, KAMERUN !, La Découverte, 2019 He was re-elected again in the June 1951 elections, this time contesting a Second College seat. He was also elected to Cameroon's Territorial Assembly, a position he would hold for two years. In Paris, Dr. Aujoulat is appointed to the Board of Justice and Law, the Foreign Affairs Committee and that of industrial production and energy. He was the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

from 19 June 1954 to 3 September 1954, then Minister of Labor and Social Security until 23 February 1955. According to the testimonies of some of his collaborators, he was homosexual but had to hide it because of his conservative commitment and religious beliefs.

Later life

Aujoulat ran for re-election in the January 1956 elections, but received only 13% of the vote as he was defeated by André Mbida. After this he abandoned parliamentary life, instead focusing on a career as France's representative to the

. He died on 1 December 1973 in Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aujoulat, Louis-Paul 1910 births 1973 deaths People from Saïda People of French Algeria Pieds-noirs Popular Republican Movement politicians Ministers of health of France Ministers of labour and social affairs 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 20th-century French diplomats French people of colonial Algeria