Jean Durand (politician)

Jean Durand (left) with Justin Godart , Henri Queuille , Joseph Paul-Boncour , René Renoult (1932)

Jean Alexandre Durand (born January 8, 1865 in Les Cammazes , † October 11, 1936 in Castelnaudary ) was a French doctor and politician of the Third Republic . From 1925 to 1926 he was minister of agriculture and the interior, and in 1930 minister of education .

Life

Durand was born the son of a baker. After attending school in Castelnaudary, he studied medicine at the University of Toulouse . He received his training as a doctor in the Paris military hospital Val-de-Grâce and in other hospitals. He was in the military for a short time, then settled as a doctor in Castelnaudary and also worked in agriculture.

Durand joined a Republican alliance while studying and soon after joined the Radical Party . He was initially involved in local politics, became a council member in 1902 and was mayor of Castelnaudary from 1904 to 1912. In October 1909 he became a member of the General Council in the Aude department , where he held the office of Vice-President for a long time and to which he belonged until his death.

In 1906 Durand was elected to the Chamber of Deputies , to which he was a member until 1921. As a member of the Radical Socialist faction, he campaigned for the creation of breastfeeding opportunities for working women and for a ban on the sale and import of baby bottles made of glass . He also advocated the introduction of autonomy for medical educational institutions and devoted himself to financial and foreign policy issues. However, his main focus was on agricultural policy. As deputy chairman of the Committee on Health and Agriculture, he worked to reduce the tax burden on winegrowers and farmers. In 1916 he submitted a bill to parliament for the creation of chambers of agriculture.

After leaving the Chamber of Deputies in 1921, he was Senator for the Aude department for the Democratic Left until his death . In 1933 he was elected chairman of the women's suffrage commission.

Durand served from April 17, 1925 to April 10, 1926 as Minister of Agriculture and then until July 19, 1926 as Minister of the Interior in the governments led by Paul Painlevé and Aristide Briand . In the short-lived first cabinet of Prime Minister Camille Chautemps, he held the office of Minister for Education and the Arts from February 21 to March 2, 1930.

Durand died on October 11, 1936 while walking in his home town of Saint-Jean near Castelnaudary. He was buried in the West Cemetery in Castelnaudary.

Web links

• Jean Durand at the Assemblée nationale
• Jean Durand at the Sénat

predecessor	Office	successor
Louis Malvy	Interior Minister of France April 10, 1926 - July 19, 1926	Camille Chautemps
Pierre Marraud	Minister of Education of France February 21, 1930 - March 2, 1930	Pierre Marraud