Pierre Gabriel Adhéaume de Chevigné (16 June 1909 – 4 April 2004) was a French politician, who was the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

in the Fourth Republic between 14 May and 1 June 1958.

Early life

Chevigné was born on 16 June 1909 in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label=Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is the ...

. He was a son of François Henri Marie Joseph Auguste de Chevigné and the former Gisèle Colas.

Career

Chevigné graduated from Saint Cyr and became a career officer. He was wounded on several occasions in 1940, managed to rejoin De Gaulle in London and was a colonel in the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, la ...

. After initial postings in Syria and Lebanon he was sent to Washington in 1942 as military attaché for the Free French. Upon his return to London he became chief of staff of the French Forces in Great-Britain. After the Liberation he was sent to Madagascar as High-Commissioner. A member of the

Popular Republican Movement The Popular Republican Movement (french: Mouvement Républicain Populaire, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert ...

party, briefly served as the

in the Fourth Republic between 14 May and 1 June 1958 under

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Pierre Pflimlin Pierre Eugène Jean Pflimlin (; 5 February 1907 – 27 June 2000) was a French Christian Democrat politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic for a few weeks in 1958, before being replaced by Charles de Gaulle during t ...

. In 1954, he was wounded slightly by grenade fragments during a tour of the

Indo-China Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

fighting front while inspecting French troops that had landed in territory held by Communist

Việt Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fr ...

rebels. Prime Minister Pflimlin served only briefly before the

May 1958 crisis in France The May 1958 crisis, also known as the Algiers putsch or the coup of 13 May, was a political crisis in France during the turmoil of the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962) which led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic and its replacem ...

during the turmoil of the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

which led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic and its replacement by the Fifth Republic led by Charles de Gaulle who returned to power after a twelve-year absence. He traveled to New York City in 1952.

Personal life

He was married to Hélène Rodocanachi (1911–1939), a daughter of Petros Rodocanachis and the former Chariklia Salvagou. Together, they had two daughters, including: * Gisèle Françoise Andrée Simone de Chevigné (b. 1933), who married Count François de La Croix de Castries (1919/20–2011) who had a military career in Korea,

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

, and

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

. After the death of his wife in 1939, he remarried to Anne d'Ormesson (–2008). Pierre de Chevigné died in

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Sp ...

on 4th of April 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chevigne, Pierre De 1909 births 2004 deaths Politicians from Toulon Popular Republican Movement politicians French Ministers of Defence 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 French military personnel of World War II French people of the Algerian War Companions of the Liberation Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)