Albert francois lebrun biography sample

Albert Lebrun

French Politician

Born: August 29, 1871 at Mercy-le-Haut, Lorraine
Died: March 6, 1950 at Paris

President of the Republic: May 10, 1932 - July 10, 1940

     Lebrun gave up a promising career as mining engineer to enter politics at age 29.

1-4.[4]The second term of Lebrun was not marked by any public ceremony. The rise of Nazism in Germany and the increasing influence of left-wing parties in France created a volatile political climate. Lebrun retired to Paris, where he lived until his death on March 6, 1950.

Biography: Philippe Pétain took over as head of state; retired to Vizille near Grenoble; interned by the Germans at Itter in Tirol (1943-1944); acknowledged General Charles de Gaulle as head of the provisional government.Biographical sources: birth record in in the Archives of the Meurthe-et-Moselle département, 5 Mi 362/R 6, record No.

21 (1871); "Le dernier président de la IIIème République", by Éric Freysselinard (Paris: Belin, 2013).Elections:

Candidate	Vote (10 May 1932)
votes cast	826
blank/invalid	49
valid votes	777
absolute majority	389
Albert-François Lebrun	633
Paul Favre	114
Paul Painlevé	12
Gilles-Marcel Cachin	8
scattered	10

Candidate	Vote (5 Apr 1939)
votes cast	910
blank/invalid	6
valid votes	904
absolute majority	453
Albert-François Lebrun	506
Albert Bedouce	151
Gilles-Marcel Cachin	74
Édouard-Marie Herriot	53
François-Pierre-Marie-Justin Godart	50
Fernand-Émile-Honoré Bouisson	16
François-Sampiero-Sébastien-Marie-Jourdan Piétri	10
scattered	44

Source of electoral results: JORF - Débats parlementaires, No.

52, 11 May 1932, Assemblée nationale, pp. His presidency was marked by a tumultuous period, both domestically and internationally. Lebrun was elected President of the Republic in 1932 following the assassination of Paul Doumer. However, in poor health, Lebrun was allowed to go home in October 1943, and kept under surveillance. In 1943, he was arrested by the Germans and held under house arrest in Tyrol.

His deference to parliament was rewarded in 1939 when became only the second man to win reelection as President under the Third Republic. He deferred to the National Assembly's July 10, 1940 vote and yielded power to without resigning. He was re-elected in 1939 and during the German Western Offensive moved to Bordeaux with his prime minister, Paul Reynaud.

He was also lapsing into senility when the crisis struck in 1940. Governments under Lebrun, including the national unity government led by former President Doumergue, pursued a policy of appeasement towards Germany, but failed to effectively address the growing threats.

Limited Presidential Powers

Under the constitution of the Third Republic, the president had limited executive authority.

As such, Lebrun had little control over the conduct of foreign and domestic policy.

He scrupulously observed the constitutional limitations of presidential power. He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1900, received his first cabinet appointment, Minister of Colonies in 1911 and served in Clemenceau's Union Sacree government as Blockade Minister and Minister for Liberated Regions from 1917 to 1919. He was Minister for the Colonies (1911-14), and for Liberated Regions (1917-19).

In 1920 Lebrun became a senator and in 1932 was elected president.

     Lebrun retired to Vizille in the Italian zone of occupation. 1-4; JORF - Débats parlementaires, No. 38, 6 Apr 1939, Assemblée nationale, pp. Instead, he chose to remain in France, settling in Vizeille. Laval described him as a man, "who cried whenever a cloud covered the sun".

He disapproved of Henri-Philippe Petain and the Vichy government and on 13th July, 1940, he resigned and retired to Vizille.

When Adolf Hitler heard that Lebrun was in contact with the Allies he had him arrested on 23rd August 1943. As a mining engineer, he entered politics in 1900 as a deputy for the Republican Left, becoming the youngest deputy in France at the age of 29.

Due to declining health, he was later allowed to return to Vizeille but remained under surveillance.

Post-War Years

After the liberation of France in 1944, Lebrun, whose second presidential term nominally expired in 1946, met with General Charles de Gaulle and recognized him as the provisional head of state and his legitimate successor.