Victor Le Gorgeu (5 May 1881 – 11 September 1963) was a French physician, politician, and resistance figure during World War II. Born in

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

he pursued a dual career in medicine and public service.

Early life and medical career

Le Gorgeu graduated as a physician at the

École du service de santé des armées The École du service de santé des armées (ESSA) is the main Military medicine, medical Medical school, school organisation for the French Armed Forces (''Forces armées françaises''), although mainly administered by the French Army (''Armée de ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

in 1904, earning accolades for his academic performance. He served as a medical officer in the French colonial forces, with postings in

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

, and

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. In 1911, he left the army and established the first medical analysis laboratory in Brest. 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 ...

, Le Gorgeu served as a battalion physician and later as head of a field ambulance unit in the Army of the Orient.

Political career

Le Gorgeu entered politics in 1919, becoming a departmental councilor for

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Brest which was brought to an end in 1941 by his refusal to vote on an address of confidence to Marshal Petain. He was also the joint owner of the newspaper La Dépêche de Brest. Elected

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for Finistère in 1931, he represented the group until 1945. He also served as Sous-secrétaire d'État for

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

in 1933–1934, advocating for expanded access to education and vocational training.

Resistance activities and postwar roles

An outspoken opponent of the

Vichy government 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 defeat against ...

, Le Gorgeu was one of 80 parliamentarians to vote against granting full powers to

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 ...

in 1940. After being arrested, he left Brest for

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 ...

and joined the resistance. In 1943,

Charles 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 ...

appointed him Commissaire Régional de la République for

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

to oversee liberation efforts. He helped set up

Le Télégramme ''Le Télégramme'' is a French-language daily newspaper from the Brittany region of France, based in the commune of Morlaix. It was founded in 1944 and still exists to this day, although circulation has been declining since 2012. History and pro ...

a regional newspaper to replace Dépêche de Brest which Le Gorgeu had lost control for his and the papers criticism of Vichy. After the war, he served as President of the Jury for the first class of the

École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...

(ENA) and held various positions, including President of the ''Conseil supérieur de la Marine marchande'' and member of the Académie de Marine.

Legacy and honors

Le Gorgeu was decorated with the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(commander, 1952), the

Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

, and the

Resistance Medal The Resistance Medal (, ) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 February 1943 "to recognize the ...

with rosette. Streets in Brest,

, and

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

bear his name, and the residence at the École des hautes études en santé publique (EHESP) is named in his honor.

References

External links

Victor Le Gorgeu on Wiki-Brest

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Gorgeu, Victor Pierre 1881 births 1963 deaths Politicians from Quimper Radical Party (France) politicians French senators of the Third Republic The Vichy 80 Mayors of places in Brittany Politicians of the French Fourth Republic Politicians of the French Fifth Republic Senators of Finistère Commissioners of the Republic