Victor Édouard Milliard (19 December 1844 – 9 May 1921) was a French politician who was Minister of Justice for a few months in 1897–98.

Early career (1844–90)

Victor Édouard Milliard was born on 19 December 1844 in

les Andelys Les Andelys (; Norman language, Norman: ''Les Aundelys'') is a Communes of France, commune in the northern French Departments of France, department of Eure, in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy. Geography It lies on the Seine, about no ...

, Eure. His father was an advocate in les Andelys. He became a lawyer. He was secretary of the Paris Bar Conference in 1867–1868. He acted as secretary of

Jules Favre Jules Claude Gabriel Favre (21 March 1809 – 20 January 1880) was a French statesman and lawyer. After the establishment of the Third Republic in September 1870, he became one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans in the National Assemb ...

(1809–80). He ran unsuccessfully for election to the National Assembly on 8 February 1871 as Republican candidate for the department of Eure, and failed again in the election of 14 October 1877. He was elected deputy for the Eure on 14 October 1887 in a by-election. He sat with the Left. He failed to be reelected in 1889.

Senator (1890–1921)

Milliard ran for the Senate in a by-election and was elected on 13 April 1890. He took a moderate Republican position. In 1891 he declared that the liberty of the press must be accompanied by a law against defamation. Without giving up his Senate seat, he ran for election as a deputy in 1893 but failed. He was reelected to the Senate on 7 January 1894. In April 1895 he was elected president of the general council of the Eure. In the Senate Milliard joined the group of the Republican Left and Republican Union. He was

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the cabinet of

Jules Méline Félix Jules Méline (; 20 May 183821 December 1925) was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France from 1896 to 1898. Biography Méline was born at Remiremont. Having taken up law as his profession, he was chosen a deputy in 1872, and in ...

from 2 December 1897 to 28 June 1898. As Minister he was primarily concerned with maintaining order. He was firmly opposed to reviewing the trial of

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 ...

, but also authorized the preventative arrest of the antisemitic agitator

Max Régis Max Régis (8 June 1873 – 1950) was a French journalist and politician who promoted anti-semitism in French Algeria during the late 1890s. He was elected mayor of Algiers in 1898 but was soon dismissed from office. He campaigned unsuccessfully f ...

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. In 1899 he was Méline's lieutenant as head of the Alliance of Progressive Republicans. He retained his Senate seat in the elections of 1903, 1912 and 1921. Milliard died on 9 May 1921 in Paris aged 76.

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Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milliard, Victor Edouard 1844 births 1921 deaths People from Les Andelys Politicians from Normandy Progressive Republicans (France) Ministers of justice and religious affairs of France Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French senators of the Third Republic Senators of Eure