Georges Pompidou

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Georges Pompidou
Member of the Constitutional Council
In office
5 March 1959 – 14 April 1962
Appointed byCharles de Gaulle
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byBernard Chenot
Additional positions
(see § Offices and distinctions)
Personal details
Born
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou

(1911-07-05)5 July 1911
Union for the New Republic
(Before 1968)
Spouse
Croix de Guerre

Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (/ˈpɒmpɪduː/ POMP-id-oo, French: [ʒɔʁʒ 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 although in keeping with the

EEC
in contrast to de Gaulle's opposition.

Pompidou died in office in 1974 of

blood cancer. His presidency is generally held in high esteem by French political commentators.[by whom?
]

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

Malaga (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

École Normale Supérieure from which he graduated with a degree of agrégation
in literature.

He first taught literature at the

lycée Henri IV in Paris until he was hired in 1953 by Guy de Rothschild to work at Rothschild. In 1956, he was appointed the bank's general manager, a position that he held until 1962. Later, he was hired by Charles de Gaulle to manage the Anne de Gaulle Foundation for Down syndrome
(de Gaulle's youngest daughter, Anne, had Down syndrome).

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]

US Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and Gemini 4 astronauts at the 1965 Paris Air Show

He served as

Union of Democrats for the Fifth Republic to a narrow victory. Pompidou was widely regarded[by whom?] as being responsible for the peaceful resolution of the student uprising of May 1968. His strategy was to break the coalition of students and workers by negotiating with the trade-unions and employers (Grenelle conference
).

However, during the

events of May 1968, disagreements arose between Pompidou and de Gaulle. Pompidou did not understand why the President did not inform him of his departure to Baden-Baden on 29 May. Their relationship, until then very good, would be strained from then on. Pompidou led and won the 1968 legislative campaign
, overseeing a tremendous victory of the Gaullist Party. He then resigned. Nevertheless, in part due to his actions during the May 1968 crisis, he appeared as the natural successor to de Gaulle. Pompidou announced his candidature for the Presidency in January 1969.

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

European Community on 1 January 1973. He embarked on an industrialisation plan and initiated the Arianespace project, as well as the TGV project, and furthered the French civilian nuclear programme. He was sceptical about the "New Society" programme of his prime minister, Jacques Chaban-Delmas. In 1972, he replaced Chaban-Delmas with Pierre Messmer, a more conservative Gaullist. While the left-wing opposition organised itself and proposed a Common Programme before the 1973 legislative election, Pompidou widened his presidential majority by including Centrist pro-European parties. In addition, he paid special attention to regional and local needs in order to strengthen his political party, the UDR (Union des Democrates pour la Ve République), which he made a central and lasting force in the Gaullist movement.[9]

Foreign affairs

The United States was eager to restore positive relations with France after de Gaulle's departure from office. New US President

Nixon Shock and the 1973–1975 recession, particularly over the role of the American dollar as the medium for world trade.[10]

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

Marais area of Paris. Other attempts at modernisation included tearing down the open-air markets at Les Halles and replacing them with the shopping mall of the same name, building the Montparnasse Tower
, and constructing an expressway on the right bank of the Seine.

Death in office

The grave of Georges and Claude Pompidou in Orvilliers

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:

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

Presidential standard of Georges Pompidou

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Georges Pompidou.

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ Wall, E. H. (1976). "Pompidou, Georges Jean Raymond". In William D. Halsey (ed.). Collier's Encyclopedia. Vol. 19. Macmillan Educational Corporation. p. 236.
  4. ^ "Toulouse : Une plaque en mémoire de Georges Pompidou au lycée Fermat".
  5. ^ Jacques Chirac, M Life and Politics (2011) p. 24
  6. ISBN 9781782543800. Archived
    from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  7. Political Quarterly
    (1970) 41#2 pp 156-168
  8. ISBN 9780521580618. Archived
    from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  9. Western Political Quarterly (1973) 26#3 pp. 485–506 in JSTOR Archived 2 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Trachtenberg, 2001
  11. ^ Edward A. Kolodziej, French Foreign Policy under de Gaulle and Pompidou: The Politics of Grandeur (1974).
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "French Proclaim Poher President". The New York Times. 4 April 1974.
  16. ^ "Georges Pompidou Notre Dame Pictures and Images". Getty Images. 5 April 1974. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  17. ^ "김 총리 오늘 향불". 4 April 1974. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  18. ^ Philippe Kohly, documentary La France maladie du pouvoir, in Histoire immédiate, 2012.
  19. ^ a b "Claude Pompidou". The Daily Telegraph. 5 July 2007. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  20. Eurovision. 2002–19. Archived
    from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  21. ^ He owns this decoration by right as President of the Republic.
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.

Further reading

Offices and titles

Legal offices
New office Member of the Constitutional Council
1959–1962 		Succeeded by
National Assembly of France
Preceded by Member of the National Assembly
for Cantal's 2nd constituency
1967
1968–1969 		Succeeded by
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of France
1962–1968 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of France
1969–1974 		Succeeded by
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Ramon Malla Call, Joan Martí i Alanis
 		Succeeded by
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Archbasilica of St. John Lateran

1969–1974 		Succeeded by
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