Georges Leygues

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Georges Leygues

Georges Leygues (born October 26, 1857 in Villeneuve-sur-Lot , † September 2, 1933 in Saint-Cloud ) was a French politician ( ARD ). During the period of the Third Republic , which was characterized by its frequently changing governments, he held various ministerial posts in twenty different cabinets and was Prime Minister of France from September 24, 1920 to January 16, 1921 . Between 1917 and 1933 he was, intermittently, Minister of the Navy and the Colonies. He is dubbed the "father" of the modern French Navy.

Political career

His first ministerial office took Leygues as Minister for Public Education (Minister of Education) in the cabinet of Charles Dupuy from May 30, 1894 to January 26, 1895. After his resignation Leygues changed the post and became interior minister instead of Dupuy . He occupied this office from January 26, 1895 to November 1, 1895 under Prime Minister Alexandre Ribot .

From November 1, 1898 to June 7, 1902, he was reinstated as Minister of Education by Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau . His term of office was marked by the reform of the school system, which he initiated in 1902 after tough struggles with members of the Chamber of Deputies . The aim of the reform was to modernize secondary schools and improve cooperation with primary schools.

In the government of Ferdinand Sarrien , Leygues was Minister for Navy and Colonies from March 14 to October 25, 1906. He had the ports in Bizerta , Dakar , Djibouti and Saigon fortified and expanded. He was also heavily involved in the unification of Oubangui-Chari (today's Central African Republic ) and the Chad Territory to form the Oubangui-Chari-Chad colony in French Equatorial Africa .

In the eleven years that followed, Leygues was not part of the government. In 1914, despite his age of 58, he became a captain (capitaine) of the French Alpine hunters . However, shortly afterwards he was called back to Paris as chairman of the Chamber of Deputies' foreign policy committee.

On November 16, 1917, Georges Clemenceau again entrusted him with the post of Minister for Navy and Colonies, which he held from 1917 until his death in 1933, interrupted only by his brief term as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister from September 24, 1920 to September 16. January 1921. Parallel to his office as Minister of the Navy, Leyges was Minister of the Interior in the government of Théodore Steeg from December 13, 1930 to January 27, 1931 .

Honors

Several French warships were named after Georges Leygues:

Terms of office and government cabinets

  • Minister of Education in the government of Charles Dupuy (2nd cabinet) from May 30 to July 1, 1894
  • Minister of Education in the government of Charles Dupuy (3rd Cabinet) from July 1, 1894 to January 26, 1895
  • Minister of the Interior in the government of Alexandre Ribot (3rd Cabinet) from January 26 to November 1, 1895
  • Minister of Education in the government of Charles Dupuy (4th Cabinet) from November 1, 1989 to February 18, 1899
  • Education Minister in the government of Charles Dupuy (5th Cabinet) from February 18 to June 22, 1899
  • Education Minister in the government of Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau from June 22, 1899 to June 7, 1902
  • Minister for Navy and Colonies in the government of Ferdinand Sarrien from March 14, 1906 to October 25, 1906
  • Minister for Navy and Colonies in the government of Georges Clemenceau (2nd Cabinet) from November 16, 1917 to January 20, 1920
  • Prime Minister and Foreign Minister from September 24, 1920 to January 16, 1921
  • Minister for the Navy and Colonies in the government of Aristide Briand (8th Cabinet) from November 28, 1925 to March 9, 1926
  • Minister for the Navy and Colonies in the Government of Aristide Briand (9th Cabinet) from March 9 to June 26, 1926
  • Minister for Navy and Colonies in Aristide Briand's government (10th Cabinet) from June 23 to July 19, 1926
  • Minister for Navy and Colonies in the government of Raymond Poincaré (4th Cabinet) from July 23, 1926 to November 11, 1928
  • Minister for Navy and Colonies in the government of Raymond Poincaré (5th Cabinet) from November 11, 1928 to July 29, 1929
  • Minister of the Navy and Colonies in the government of Aristide Briand (11th Cabinet) from July 29 to November 3, 1929
  • Minister for Navy and Colonies in André Tardieu's government (1st cabinet) from November 3, 1929 to February 21, 1930
  • Minister of the Interior in the government of Théodore Steeg from December 13, 1930 to January 27, 1931
  • Minister for Navy and Colonies in the government of Édouard Herriot (3rd Cabinet) from June 3 to December 18, 1932
  • Minister for the Navy and Colonies in the government of Joseph Paul-Boncour from December 18, 1932 to January 31, 1933
  • Minister for Navy and Colonies in the government of Édouard Daladier (1st Cabinet) from January 31 to September 2, 1933

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jacques Raphaël-Leygues (ed.): Georges Leygues. Le "père" de la marine. France-Empire, 1983.
  2. ^ Charles W. Koburger: The Cyrano Fleet. France and Its Navy, 1940-1942. Prager, New York 1994, p. 92.
personal data
SURNAME Leygues, Georges
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French politician, Prime Minister and Minister of the Navy
DATE OF BIRTH October 26, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH Villeneuve-sur-Lot , Lot-et-Garonne department , France
DATE OF DEATH September 2, 1933
Place of death Saint-Cloud , Hauts-de-Seine department , France