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Pierre Laval
*** Shopping-Tip: Pierre Laval
Image:Laval.gif thumb|right|150px|Pierre Laval, prime minister of [[Vichy France]]
'''Pierre Laval''' (
June 28,
1883 –
October 15,
1945) was a
France French politician and four times
Prime Minister of France, the final time being under the
Vichy France Vichy government. For his role in Vichy France during
World War II, he was found guilty of high
treason and executed after the war. Today, Pierre Laval is generally remembered in France as a despicable traitor.
Career
He was born in
Châteldon in the
Puy-de-Dôme département of the
Auvergne (province) Auvergne region. After earning a law degree, he worked as a
lawyer, in
Paris from
1907. A
socialist, he was elected to the
French National Assembly Chamber of Deputies as a member of
Socialist Party (France) French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) in
1903. He did not serve in
World War I but the period saw a change to his politics as he moved towards the
Right-wing politics right. He lost the first post-war election. He became
mayor of
Aubervilliers in
1924 and left the socialist party; he was elected to the
French Senate in
1927.
Laval was a prominent figure in the
1930s governments. He was frequently in cabinet and was
Prime Minister from
January 27,
1931 to
February 6,
1932 (succeeding
André Tardieu) and again from
June 7,
1935. He was named ''
TIME magazine's'' 1931
Man of the Year.
During his second stint as Prime Minister in October
1935, together with the British foreign minister,
Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood Samuel Hoare, he proposed a solution to the
Abyssinia crisis. Leaked to the media in December, the ''
realpolitik''
Hoare-Laval Pact was widely denounced as an appeasement to
Benito Mussolini and Laval was forced to resign on
January 22,
1936.
Out of politics, Laval returned to his business career, but soon had major political influence after he assembled an extensive
media empire through acquisitions of newspapers and radio. The victory of the ''
Front Populaire'' in 1936 meant that Laval had a
left-wing government as a target for his media. Following the
Germany German occupation, his publications and broadcasts outlets played a prominent part in forcing out the existing government and then supporting the new government of
Philippe Pétain. On
July 12,
1940, Laval became vice-premier and named
Fernand de Brinon to lead negotiations with the Germans.
Laval was enthusiastically pro-
Nazism Nazi; his demands for a Franco-German military alliance led to him being sacked from the government and arrested in
December 13,
1940. The German
ambassador in France,
Otto Abetz, had him freed and moved to Paris. He was injured in an assassination attempt on
August 27,
1941 at a
SS Division Charlemagne ''Légion des Volontaires Français'' review but recovered and was recalled into the Vichy government on
April 18,
1942. This time he became Prime Minister and succeeded
Admiral François Darlan as the leading figure in the regime after Pétain himself. Laval was largely blamed for the increase in anti-
Jewish activities and the decision to send French workers to Germany through ''la relève'' and later the ''Service du Travail Obligatoire''. The creation of the Vichy
Milice, the wartime
secret police, in January,
1943 has also been credited to Laval.
Following the
Allies Allied invasion of France, the government moved from Vichy to
Belfort and then to Germany and
Sigmaringen in August,
1944. In May
1945 Laval fled. He first went to
Spain but was deported and ended up in
Austria where he was given over to the
Allied Forces. On
July 30,
1945 he was handed over to the new French government. Charged with
treason and violating state security, Laval was tried and after being found guilty despite vigorously defending himself in the first part of his trial, was
capital punishment sentenced to death. After a failed attempt at
suicide (the
cyanide had lost its full potency), he was executed by firing squad at
Fresnes prison, near
Paris, half-unconscious and vomiting.
Laval's First Government, 27 January 1931 - 14 January 1932
*Pierre Laval - President of the Council and Minister of the Interior
*
Aristide Briand - Minister of Foreign Affairs
*
André Maginot - Minister of War
*
Pierre Étienne Flandin - Minister of Finance
*
François Piétri - Minister of Budget
*
Adolphe Landry - Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
*
Léon Bérard - Minister of Justice
*
Charles Dumont - Minister of Marine
*
Louis de Chappedelaine - Minister of Merchant Marine
*
Jacques-Louis Dumesnil - Minister of Air
*
Mario Roustan - Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
*
Auguste Champetier de Ribes - Minister of Pensions
*
André Tardieu - Minister of Agriculture
*
Paul Reynaud - Minister of Colonies
*
Maurice Deligne - Minister of Public Works
*
Camille Blaisot - Minister of Public Health
*
Charles Guernier - Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones
*
Louis Rollin - Minister of Commerce and Industry
Laval's Second Government, 14 January - 20 February 1932
*Pierre Laval - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
*
André Tardieu - Minister of War
*
Pierre Cathala - Minister of the Interior
*
Pierre Étienne Flandin - Minister of Finance
*
François Piétri - Minister of Budget
*
Adolphe Landry - Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
*
Léon Bérard - Minister of Justice
*
Charles Dumont - Minister of Marine
*
Louis de Chappedelaine - Minister of Merchant Marine
*
Jacques-Louis Dumesnil - Minister of Air
*
Mario Roustan - Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
*
Auguste Champetier de Ribes - Minister of Pensions
*
Achille Fould - Minister of Agriculture
*
Paul Reynaud - Minister of Colonies
*
Maurice Deligne - Minister of Public Works
*
Camille Blaisot - Minister of Public Health
*
Charles Guernier - Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones
*
Louis Rollin - Minister of Commerce and Industry
Laval's Third Ministry, 7 June 1935 - 24 January 1936
*Pierre Laval - President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
*
Jean Fabry - Minister of War
*
Joseph Paganon - Minister of the Interior
*
Marcel Régnier - Minister of Finance
*
Ludovic-Oscar Frossard - Minister of Labour
*
Léon Bérard - Minister of Justice
*
François Piétri - Minister of Marine
*
Mario Roustan - Minister of Merchant Marine
*
Victor Denain - Minister of Air
*
Philippe Marcombes - Minister of National Education
*
Henri Maupoil - Minister of Pensions
*
Pierre Cathala - Minister of Agriculture
*
Louis Rollin - Minister of Colonies
*
Laurent Eynac - Minister of Public Works
*
Louis Lafont - Minister of Public Health and Physical Education
*
Georges Mandel - Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones
*
Georges Bonnet - Minister of Commerce and Industry
*
Édouard Herriot - Minister of State
*
Louis Marin - Minister of State
*
Pierre Étienne Flandin - Minister of State
Changes
*
17 June 1935 -
Mario Roustan succeeds Marcombes (d.
13 June) as Minister of National Education.
William Bertrand succeeds Roustan as Minister of Merchant Marine.
Laval's Fourth Ministry, 18 April 1942 - 20 August 1944
*Pierre Laval - President of the Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the Interior, and Minister of Information
*
Eugène Bridoux - Minister of War
*
Pierre Cathala - Minister of Finance and National Economy
*
Jean Bichelonne - Minister of Industrial Production
*
Hubert Lagardelle - Minister of Labour
*
Joseph Barthélemy - Minister of Justice
*
Gabriel Auphan - Minister of Marine
*
Jean-François Jannekeyn - Minister of Air
*
Abel Bonnard - Minister of National Education
*
Jacques Le Roy Ladurie - Minister of Agriculture
*
Max Bonnafous - Minister of Supply
*
Jules Brévié - Minister of Colonies
*
Raymond Grasset - Minister of Family and Health
*
Robert Gibrat - Minister of Communication
*
Lucien Romier - Minister of State
Changes
*
11 September 1942 -
Max Bonnafous succeeds Le Roy Ladurie as Minister of Agriculture, remaining also Minister of Supply
*
18 November 1942 -
Jean-Charles Abrial succeeds Auphan as Minister of Marine.
Jean Bichelonne succeeds Gibrat as Minister of Communication, remaining also Minister of Industrial Production.
*
26 March 1943 -
Maurice Gabolde succeeds Barthélemy as Minister of Justice.
Henri Bléhaut succeeds Abrial as Minister of Marine and Brévié as Minister of Colonies.
*
21 November 1943 -
Jean Bichelonne succeeds Lagardelle as Minister of Labour, remaining also Minister of Industrial Production and Communication.
*
31 December 1943 - Minister of State Lucien Romier resigns from the government.
*
6 January 1944 -
Pierre Cathala succeeds Bonnafous as Minister of Agriculture and Supply, remaining also Minister of Finance and National Economy.
*
3 March 1944 - The office of Minister of Supply is abolished.
Pierre Cathala remains Minister of Finance, National Economy, and Agriculture.
*
16 March 1944 -
Marcel Déat succeeds Bichelonne as Minister of Labour and National Solidarity. Bichelonne remains Minister of Industrial Production and Communication.
{{start box}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of Public Works (France) Minister of Public Works|before=
Victor Peytral|after=
Anatole de Monzie|years=1925}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of Justice (France) Minister of Justice|before=
René Renoult|after=
Maurice Colrat|years=1926}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of Labour (France) Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions|before=
Louis Loucheur|after=
Édouard Grinda|years=1930}}
{{succession box|title=
Prime Minister of France President of the Council|before=
Théodore Steeg|after=
André Tardieu|years=1931–1932}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of the Interior (France) Minister of the Interior|before=
Georges Leygues|after=
Pierre Cathala|years=1931–1932}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France) Minister of Foreign Affairs|before=
Aristide Briand|years=1932|after=
André Tardieu}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of Labour (France) Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions|before=
Adolphe Landry|after=
Albert Dalimier|years=1932}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of Colonies (France) Minister of Colonies|before=
Henry de Jouvenel|after=
Louis Rollin|years=1934}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France) Minister of Foreign Affairs|before=
Louis Barthou|after=
Pierre Étienne Flandin|years=1934–1936}}
{{succession box|title=
Prime Minister of France President of the Council|before=
Fernand Bouisson|after=
Albert Sarraut|years=1935–1936}}
{{succession box|title=
Deputy Prime Minister of France Vice President of the Council|before=
Philippe Pétain|after=—|years=1940}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France) Minister of Foreign Affairs|before=
Paul Baudoin|after=
Pierre Étienne Flandin|years=1940}}
{{succession box|title=
Prime Minister of France President of the Council|before=
Philippe Pétain|after=
Charles de Gaulle|years=1942–1944}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France) Minister of Foreign Affairs|before=
François Darlan|after=
Georges Bidault|years=1942–1944}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of the Interior (France) Minister of the Interior|before=
Pierre Pucheu|after=
Adrien Tixier|years=1942–1944}}
{{succession box|title=
Minister of Information (France) Minister of Information|before=
Paul Marion|after=
Pierre-Henri Teitgen|years=1942–1944}}
{{end box}}
{{Persondata
|NAME=Laval, Pierre
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=French politician
|DATE OF BIRTH=
June 28,
1883
|PLACE OF BIRTH=
Châteldon,
Puy-de-Dôme,
France
|DATE OF DEATH=
October 15,
1945
|PLACE OF DEATH=
Paris,
France
}}
Category:1883 births Laval, Pierre
Category:1945 deaths Laval, Pierre
Category:Executed politicians Laval, Pierre
Category:Firearm deaths Laval, Pierre
Category:French fascists Laval, Pierre
Category:French lawyers Laval, Pierre
Category:French World War II people Laval, Pierre
Category:Members of the French Socialist Party Laval, Pierre
Category:People executed for treason Laval, Pierre
Category:Prime Ministers of France Laval, Pierre
Category:Time Magazine Person of the Year Laval, Pierre
Category:Vichy regime Laval, Pierre
Category:World War II political leaders Laval, Pierre
af:Pierre Laval
ca:Pierre Laval
de:Pierre Laval
fr:Pierre Laval
it:Pierre Laval
he:פייר ל×?וו×?ל
nl:Pierre Laval
pl:Pierre Laval
pt:Pierre Laval
fi:Pierre Laval
sv:Pierre Laval
zh:皮埃尔·赖�尔
*** Shopping-Tip: Pierre Laval
