Georges Pompidou
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Georges Pompidou | |
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Member of the Constitutional Council | |
In office 5 March 1959 – 14 April 1962 | |
Appointed by | Charles de Gaulle |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Bernard Chenot |
Additional positions | |
(see § Offices and distinctions) | |
Personal details | |
Born | Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou 5 July 1911 Union for the New Republic (before 1968) |
Spouse |
Second World War |
Awards | Croix de Guerre |
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (/ˈpɒmpɪduː/ POMP-id-oo, French: [ʒɔʁʒ(ə) pɔ̃pidu] ; 5 July 1911 – 2 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 to his death in 1974. He was earlier the longest-ever Prime Minister of France, under President Charles de Gaulle, from 1962 to 1968.
In the context of the strong growth of the last years of the Trente Glorieuses, Pompidou continued De Gaulle's policy of modernisation, which was symbolised by the presidential use of the Concorde, the creation of large industrial groups and the launch of the high-speed train project (TGV). The government invested heavily in the automobile, agribusiness, steel, telecommunications, nuclear and aerospace sectors and also created the minimum wage (SMIC) and the Ministry of the Environment.
His foreign policy was pragmatic but in line with the
A man of letters, he belongs to a long line of French statesmen with an excellent writing style. His "Anthology of French Poetry" is still a reference and is part of the school curriculum. He was passionate about contemporary art, and his name remains known worldwide for the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou, which he initiated and was inaugurated in 1977; it subsequently spread the name with its branches in Metz (France), Málaga (Spain), Brussels (Belgium) and Shanghai (China). A Georges Pompidou Museum is also dedicated to him in his hometown.
Early life
The family of Georges Pompidou was of very modest origins. He was the grandson of farmers of modest means in Cantal on both his father's and his mother's side. His parents were teachers. His case is thus often cited as a typical example of social mobility in the Third Republic because of public schooling.[1]
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was born on 5 July 1911
He first taught literature at the
Prime Minister
Jacques Chirac served as an aide to Prime Minister Pompidou and recalled:
The man gave the appearance of being secretive, wily, a little cunning—which he was, to a degree. However, it was primarily his intelligence, culture, and competence that conferred indisputable authority on him and commanded respect.... I remember his untamed eyebrows, his penetrating, very kindly gaze, his perceptive smile, full of humour and mischievousness, his voice with its wonderful low, warm, gravelly tone, and a figure that was both powerful and elegant. Naturally reserved, little given to emotional outbursts, Pompidou did not forge very close ties with his colleagues.[5]
He served as
During the
In social policy, Pompidou's tenure as prime minister witnessed the establishment of the National Employment Fund in 1963 to counter the negative effects on employment caused by industrial restructuring.[6]
Presidency
After the failure of the
Foreign affairs
The United States was eager to restore positive relations with France after de Gaulle's departure from office. New US President
Pompidou sought to maintain good relations with the newly independent former French colonies in Africa. In 1971, he visited Mauritania, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Gabon. He brought a message of cooperation and financial assistance, but without the traditional paternalism. More broadly, he made an effort to foster closer relations with North African and Middle Eastern countries in order to develop a hinterland including all nations bordering the Mediterranean.[11]
Modernising Paris
Pompidou's time in office was marked by constant efforts to modernise France's capital city. He spearheaded construction of a modern art museum, the Centre Beaubourg (renamed
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Pompidou with US president Richard Nixon in Reykjavík, 31 May 1973
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Pompidou withWest German chancellor Willy Brandt in Cologne, 3 July 1972
Death in office
While still in office, Pompidou died on 2 April 1974, at 9 PM, while in his apartment,[12] from Waldenström macroglobulinemia. His body was buried on 4 April, in the churchyard of Orvilliers, where he had bought an old baker's house which he turned into a weekend home.[13] The official memorial service for him was held at Notre-Dame de Paris with 3,000 dignitaries in attendance (including 28 heads of state and representatives from 82 countries). April 6 was declared a national day of mourning and entertainment and cultural events were canceled, theatres and schools closed.[14][15]
Attendees included:
- United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim
- UNESCO Director General René Maheu
- European Union President of the European Commission Jean Rey
- NATO Secretary General Joseph Luns
- France (Interim) President Alain Poher
- United States President Richard Nixon
- Canada Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
- United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Wilson and predecessor Edward Heath
- West Germany Chancellor Willy Brandt
- East Germany Vice President Manfred Gerlach
- Austria Chancellor Bruno Kreisky
- Switzerland President Hans-Peter Tschudi
- Morocco King Hassan II
- Belgium King Baudouin
- Netherlands Queen Juliana
- Ethiopia Emperor Haile Selassie
- Tunisia President Habib Bourguiba
- Italy President Giovanni Leone
- Turkey Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit
- Finland President Urho Kekkonen
- Soviet Union President Nikolai Podgorny
- Yugoslavia Prime Minister Petar Stambolić
- Czechoslovakia President Gustáv Husák
- Denmark Prime Minister Poul Hartling
- Sweden Prime Minister Olof Palme
- Portugal President Américo Tomás
- Juan Carlos I of Spain
- Monaco Prince Rainier III
- Luxembourg Grand Duke Jean
- Japan Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka[16]
- South Korea Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil[17]
- North Vietnam Foreign Minister Nguyễn Duy Trinh
- South Vietnam President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
A controversy arose surrounding the secrecy kept over Pompidou's illness, and the political class agreed that future presidents of the Republic would have to provide reports on the state of their health; however, President François Mitterrand, who had pledged during his 1981 campaign to publish regular health bulletins, would also conceal, after his accession to power, the severity of the cancer from which he was suffering.[18]
Pompidou's wife Claude Pompidou would outlive him by more than thirty years.[19] The couple had one (adopted) son, Alain Pompidou, who went on to serve as president of the European Patent Office.[19] France withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, which took place just four days after Pompidou's death, as a mark of respect.[20]
Works
- Anthologie de la Poésie Française, Livre de Poche/Hachette, 1961
- Le Nœud gordien, éd. Plon, 1974
- Entretiens et discours, deux vol., éd. Plon, 1975
- Pour rétablir une vérité, éd. Flammarion, 1982
Medals
- Legion of Honour:
- Chevalier de la Legion of Honour: (France) (1948)
- Officier de la Legion of Honour: (France) (1957)
- Grand-croix de la Legion of Honour: 1969, grand-maître de l'ordre (France) (1969–1974, as president of the republic)
- Grand-croix de l'Ordre national du Mérite (France);[21]
- Grand Cross of Order of St. Olav (Norway, 1962)
- Knight Grand Cross Order of St. Sylvester (Vatican City, 1964)
- Grand Cross of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (1969)
- Knight Grand Cross Nederland, 1969)
- Grand Cordon of Order of Leopold (Belgium, 1972) [22]
- First Class of the Star of the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesia, 1972)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (Luxembourg, 1972)
- Grand Cordon of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland, 1972)
- Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom, 1972)
- Grand Cordon of the Order of Independence (Tunisia, 1972)
- Knight Grand Cross with Collar of Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy, 1973) [23]
See also
- Centre Georges Pompidou
- Lycée Français International Georges Pompidou – a French school in Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
- France's neocolonialism
References
- ^ e Georges Pompidou georges-pompidou.org Archived 4 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine Centenaire de la naissance du président Georges Pompidou 1911-2011, Repères biographiques de Georges Pompidou (p. 18), Centre Pompidou, direction de la communication, dossier de presse.
- ^ "Fichier des décès – années 1970 à 1979" [Death file – years 1970 to 1979] (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ Wall, E. H. (1976). "Pompidou, Georges Jean Raymond". In William D. Halsey (ed.). Collier's Encyclopedia. Vol. 19. Macmillan Educational Corporation. p. 236.
- ^ "Toulouse : Une plaque en mémoire de Georges Pompidou au lycée Fermat".
- ^ Jacques Chirac, M Life and Politics (2011) p. 24
- ISBN 9781782543800. Archivedfrom the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- Political Quarterly(1970) 41#2 pp 156-168
- ISBN 9780521580618. Archivedfrom the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- Western Political Quarterly (1973) 26#3 pp. 485–506 in JSTOR Archived 2 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Trachtenberg, 2001
- ^ Edward A. Kolodziej, French Foreign Policy under de Gaulle and Pompidou: The Politics of Grandeur (1974).
- ^ Robertson, Nan (3 April 1974). "President Pompidou Dead after almost Five Years as De Gaulle's Successor". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ Kamm, Henry (5 April 1974). "Pompidou is Buried in Village Cemetery". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ "Décret du 3 avril 1974 FIXANT LE SAMEDI 6 AVRIL 1974 JOUR DE DEUIL NATIONAL EN RAISON DU DECES DE M. GEORGES POMPIDOU, PRESIDENT DE LA REPUBLIQUE - Légifrance". Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "French Proclaim Poher President". The New York Times. 4 April 1974.
- ^ "Georges Pompidou Notre Dame Pictures and Images". Getty Images. 5 April 1974. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ "김 총리 오늘 향불". 4 April 1974. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ Philippe Kohly, documentary La France maladie du pouvoir, in Histoire immédiate, 2012.
- ^ a b "Claude Pompidou". The Daily Telegraph. 5 July 2007. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- Eurovision. 2002–19. Archivedfrom the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ He owns this decoration by right as President of the Republic.
- ^ "Van 19 tot en met 20 november zal het inkomend staatsbezoek van Frankrijk van Zijne Excellentie de heer Emmanuel Macron, President van de Franse Republiek en mevrouw Brigitte Macron aan België plaatsvinden". Twitter. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
Further reading
- Bell, David et al. eds. Biographical Dictionary of French Political Leaders Since 1870 (1990) pp 346–349.
- Bell, David. Presidential Power in Fifth Republic France (2000) pp 105–26.
- Berstein, Serge; Jean-Pierre Rioux (2000). The Pompidou Years, 1969-1974. ISBN 9780521580618.
- Demossier, Marion, et al., eds. The Routledge Handbook of French Politics and Culture (Routledge, 2019).
- Hibbs, Douglas A.; Vasilatos, Nicholas (1981). "Economics and Politics in France: Economic Performance and Mass Political Support for Presidents Pompidou and Giscard d'Estaing" (PDF). doi:10.1111/j.1475-6765.1981.tb00595.x. Archived from the original(PDF) on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- Kolodziej, Edward A. (1974). French international policy under de Gaulle and Pompidou: the politics of grandeur. Cornell Univ Press.
- Lauber, Volkmar (1983). The political economy of France: from Pompidou to Mitterrand.
- Trachtenberg, Marc (2011). "The French Factor in US Foreign Policy during the Nixon-Pompidou Period, 1969–1974" (PDF). S2CID 57559412. Archived from the original(PDF) on 12 April 2013.