René Marie Alphonse Charles Capitant (19 August 1901 in

La Tronche La Tronche () is a commune in the Isère department, southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).

, Isère – 23 May 1970 in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmais ...

) was a French lawyer and politician. He was the son of a lawyer, Henri Capitant, and attended the

Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges ('' lycées'') in France. The school educates more th ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. He received his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree also in Paris. In 1930, he was appointed to the faculty of the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ...

and became a member of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, an anti-fascist organization of intellectuals. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was involved in the creation of the resistance movement ''Combat'' in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attra ...

. He had to leave the country and became a law professor at the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers (Arabic:جامعة الجزائر – بن يوسف بن خـدة ), commonly called the Algiers 1 University, is a public research university located in Algiers, Algeria. It is the oldest and most prestigious univers ...

in 1941. After the Liberation, he became the Minister of Public Education in the provisional government. From 1945 to 1951, he was a leftist

Gaullist Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle wi ...

member of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are kno ...

. In 1946, he founded, with Louis Vallon, the ''

Union gaulliste Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...

''. After 1951, he was a law professor in Paris and was named director of the Franco-Japanese House in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

from 1957 to 1960. He was then re-elected to the National Assembly from 1962 to 1968. He served as the Minister of Justice (''Garde des Sceaux'') in the

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 19 ...

and

Couve de Murville Jacques-Maurice Couve de Murville (; 24 January 1907 – 24 December 1999) was a French diplomat and politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1968 and Prime Minister from 1968 to 1969 under the presidency of General de Gaul ...

governments from 1968 to 1969.

References

*French Wikipedia article on René Capitant 1901 births 1970 deaths People from La Tronche Politicians from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance politicians Rally of the French People politicians Democratic Union of Labour politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians French Ministers of Justice French Ministers of National Education Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 4th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic 20th-century French lawyers Lycée Henri-IV alumni University of Strasbourg faculty University of Algiers faculty Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery {{France-law-bio-stub