Aristide Briand (March 28, 1862 -
March 7, 1932) was a French statesman.
He was born at Nantes, of a bourgeois family. He studied law, and soon went into politics, associating
himself with the most advanced movements, writing articles for the anarchist
journal Le Peuple, and directing the Lanterne for some time. From this he passed to the Petite Republique,
leaving it to found L'Humanité, in collaboration with Jean Jaurès.
At the same time he was prominent in the movement for the formation of trade
unions, and at the congress of working men at Nantes in 1894 he secured the adoption of the labour union idea against the
adherents of Jules Guesde. From that time, Briand became one of the leaders
of the French Socialist Party. In 1902, after several unsuccessful attempts, he was elected deputy. He declared himself a strong partisan of the
union of the Left in what is known as the Bloc, in order to check the
reactionary deputies of the Right. From the beginning of his career in the chamber of deputies, Briand was occupied with the
question of the separation of church and
state. He was appointed reporter of the commission charged with the preparation of the law, and his masterly report at once
marked him out as one of the coming headers. He succeeded in carrying his project through with but slight modifications, and
without dividing the parties upon whose support he relied.
He was the principal author of the law of separation, but, not content with preparing it, he wished to apply it as well,
especially as the existing ministry of Maurice Rouvier was allowing
disturbances during the taking of inventories of church property, a clause of the law for which Briand was not responsible.
Consequently he accepted the portfolio of public instruction and worship in the Sarrien ministry (1906). So far as the chamber was concerned his
success was complete. But the acceptance of a portfolio in a bourgeois ministry led to his exclusion from the Unified Socialist
party (March 1906). As opposed to Jaurès, he contended that the Socialists should co-operate actively with the Radicals in all
matters of reform, and not stand aloof to await the complete fulfilment of their ideals.
Briand succeeded Clemenceau as Prime Minister in 1909, serving until 1911, and served again for a few months
in 1913. In October 1915, following on French defeats in the First World War, Briand again became Prime Minister, and, for the first time, Foreign Minister,
succeeding René Viviani and Théophile Delcassé respectively. His tenure was not particularly successful, and he resigned in March
1917 as a result of disagreements over the prospective Nivelle Offensive, to be
succeeded by Alexandre Ribot.
Briand returned to power in 1921, but his efforts to come to an agreement over
reparations with the Germans failed in the wake of German intransigence, and he was succeeded by the more bellicose Raymond Poincaré. In the wake of the Ruhr Crisis, however, Briand's more
conciliatory style became more acceptable, and he returned to the Quai
d'Orsay in 1925, remaining foreign minister until his death in 1932.
Aristide Briand received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize together with Gustav
Stresemann (Germany) and Austen Chamberlain (United Kingdom), for the
Locarno treaties. A 1927 proposal by Briand and United States Secretary
of State Frank B. Kellogg for a universal pact outlawing war led
the following year to the Pact of Paris.
Reference
- Aristide Briand - President of the Council and Minister of the Interior and Worship
- Stéphen Pichon -
Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Jean Brun - Minister of War
- Georges Cochery -
Minister of Finance
- René Viviani - Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
- Louis Barthou - Minister of Justice
- Auguste Boué de Lapeyrère - Minister of Marine
- Gaston Doumergue - Minister of Public Instruction and Fine
Arts
- Joseph Ruau - Minister of
Agriculture
- Georges Trouillot -
Minister of Colonies
- Alexandre Millerand - Minister of Public Works, Posts,
and Telegraphs
- Jean Dupuy - Minister of Commerce
and Industry
- Aristide Briand - President of the Council and Minister of the Interior and Worship
- Stéphen Pichon -
Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Jean Brun - Minister of War
- Louis Lucien Klotz - Minister of Finance
- Louis Lafferre - Minister
of Labour and Social Security Provisions
- Théodore Girard -
Minister of Justice
- Auguste Boué de Lapeyrère - Minister of Marine
- Maurice Faure - Minister of
Public Instruction and Fine Arts
- Maurice Raynaud -
Minister of Agriculture
- Jean Morel - Minister of
Colonies
- Louis Puech - Minister of Public
Works, Posts, and Telegraphs
- Jean Dupuy - Minister of Commerce
and Industry
Changes
- Aristide Briand - President of the Council and Minister of the Interior
- Charles Jonnart -
Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Eugène Étienne -
Minister of War
- Louis Lucien Klotz - Minister of Finance
- René Besnard - Minister of
Labour and Social Security Provisions
- Louis Barthou - Minister of Justice
- Pierre Baudin - Minister of
Marine
- Théodore Steeg - Minister of Public Instruction and Fine
Arts
- Fernand David - Minister of
Agriculture
- Jean Morel - Minister of
Colonies
- Jean Dupuy - Minister of Public
Works, Posts, and Telegraphs
- Gabriel Guist'hau - Minister of Commerce and Industry
- Aristide Briand - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Joseph Galliéni - Minister of War
- Louis Malvy - Minister of the
Interior
- Alexandre Ribot - Minister of Finance
- Albert Métin - Minister of
Labour and Social Security Provisions
- René Viviani - Minister of Justice
- Lucien Lacaze - Minister of
Marine
- Paul Painlevé - Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
- Jules Méline - Minister of Agriculture
- Gaston Doumergue - Minister of Colonies
- Marcel Sembat - Minister of
Public Works
- Étienne
Clémentel - Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs
- Léon Bourgeois - Minister of State
- Denys Cochin - Minister of
State
- Émile Combes - Minister of State
- Charles de Freycinet - Minister of State
- Jules Guesde - Minister of State
Changes
- 15 November 1915 - Paul Painlevé becomes Minister of Inventions for the National Defense in
addition to being Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts.
- 16 March 1916 - Pierre Auguste Roques
succeeds Galliéni as Minister of War
- Aristide Briand - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Hubert Lyautey - Minister of War
- Albert Thomas - Minister of Armaments and War Manufacturing
- Louis Malvy - Minister of the
Interior
- Alexandre Ribot - Minister of Finance
- Étienne
Clémentel - Minister of Commerce, Industry, Labour, Social Security Provisions, Agriculture, Posts, and Telegraphs
- René Viviani - Minister of Justice, Public Instruction, and Fine
Arts
- Lucien Lacaze - Minister of
Marine
- Édouard Herriot - Minister of Supply, Public Works, and
Transport
- Gaston Doumergue - Minister of Colonies
Changes
- 15 March 1917 - Lucien Lacaze succeeds Lyautey as
interim Minister of War.
- Aristide Briand - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Louis Barthou - Minister of War
- Pierre Marraud - Minister
of the Interior
- Paul Doumer - Minister of Finance
- Charles
Daniel-Vincent - Minister of Labour
- Laurent Bonnevay -
Minister of Justice
- Gabriel Guist'hau - Minister of Marine
- Léon Bérard - Minister of
Public Instruction and Fine Arts
- André Maginot - Minister of War Pensions, Grants, and
Allowances
- Edmond
Lefebvre du Prey - Minister of Agriculture
- Albert Sarraut - Minister of Colonies
- Yves Le Trocquer -
Minister of Public Works
- Georges Leredu - Minister
of Hygiene, Welfare Work, and Social Security Provisions
- Lucien Dior - Minister of
Commerce and Industry
- Louis Loucheur - Minister
of Liberated Regions
- Aristide Briand - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Paul Painlevé - Minister of War
- Camille Chautemps - Minister of the Interior
- Louis Loucheur - Minister
of Finance
- Antoine Durafour -
Minister of Labour, Hygiene, Welfare Work, and Social Security Provisions
- René Renoult - Minister of
Justice
- Georges Leygues - Minister of Marine
- Édouard Daladier - Minister of Public Instruction and Fine
Arts
- Paul Jourdain - Minister of
Pensions
- Jean Durand - Minister of
Agriculture
- Léon Perrier - Minister of
Colonies
- Anatole de Monzie - Minister of Public Works
- Charles
Daniel-Vincent - Minister of Commerce and Industry
Changes
- Aristide Briand - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Paul Painlevé - Minister of War
- Louis Malvy - Minister of the
Interior
- Raoul Péret - Minister of
Finance
- Antoine Durafour -
Minister of Labour, Hygiene, Welfare Work, and Social Security Provisions
- Pierre Laval - Minister of Justice
- Georges Leygues - Minister of Marine
- Lucien Lamoureux - Minister of Public Instruction and Fine
Arts
- Paul Jourdain - Minister of
Pensions
- Jean Durand - Minister of
Agriculture
- Léon Perrier - Minister of
Colonies
- Anatole de Monzie - Minister of Public Works
- Charles
Daniel-Vincent - Minister of Commerce and Industry
Changes
- 10 April 1926 - Jean Durand succeeds Malvy as Minister of
the Interior. François Binet
succeeds Durand as Minister of Agriculture.
- Aristide Briand - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Louis Guillaumat -
Minister of War
- Jean Durand - Minister of the
Interior
- Joseph Caillaux - Minister of Finance
- Antoine Durafour -
Minister of Labour, Hygiene, Welfare Work, and Social Security Provisions
- Pierre Laval - Minister of Justice
- Georges Leygues - Minister of Marine
- Bertrand Nogaro -
Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
- Paul Jourdain - Minister of
Pensions
- François Binet -
Minister of Agriculture
- Léon Perrier - Minister of
Colonies
- Charles
Daniel-Vincent - Minister of Public Works
- Fernand Chapsal -
Minister of Commerce and Industry
- Aristide Briand - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Paul Painlevé - Minister of War
- André Tardieu - Minister of the Interior
- Henry Chéron - Minister of
Finance
- Louis Loucheur - Minister
of Labour, Hygiene, Welfare Work, and Social Security Provisions
- Louis Barthou - Minister of Justice
- Georges Leygues - Minister of Marine
- Laurent Eynac - Minister of
Air
- Pierre Marraud - Minister
of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
- Louis Antériou -
Minister of Pensions
- Jean Hennessy - Minister of
Agriculture
- André Maginot - Minister of Colonies
- Pierre Forgeot - Minister
of Public Works
- Georges Bonnefous -
Minister of Commerce and Industry
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