Christian Pineau
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Christian Pineau (October 14, 1904 - April 5, 1995) was a noted French Resistance fighter.
He was born in Chaumont-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne, France and died in Paris.
A World War II French Resistance leader and a close ally of Charles de Gaulle, he was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and survived Buchenwald concentration camp.
He represented the Sarthe Department as a Socialist in the National Assembly from 1946 to 1958. After the war, he served as a Minister in French governments between 1945-1958. He was minister of Supply in de Gaulle's gouvernment (1945) and Minister of Public works (1947-1950) in different gouvernments. Fort a short time, he was Finance Minister en 1948. Designated as Prime minister by president Coty after Mendes France's fall in February 1955, the National Assembly refused to invest his cabinet by 312 votes against 268.
As Foreign Minister (February 1956 - May 1958), he was responsible for handling the Suez canal crisis and he signed the Treaty of Rome on behalft of France. With Guy Mollet, he visited Moscow. He was a always an advocate of European integration.
He wrote several books:
- La simple vérité, regard sur la période 1940-1945, Juillard
- Khrouchtchev, Perrin, 1964
- Suez, Robert Laffont, 1976
- Mon cher député, Julliard, 1959
- Le grand pari, l'aventure du Traité de Rome (with Christiane Rimbaud)
and also children's books: Plume et le saumon, L'ourse aux pattons verts, Histoire de la forêt de Bercé, La planète aux enfants perdus.
He is buried in Le Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France.
Pineau's Ministry, 20 January - 23 February 1955
- Christian Pineau - President of the Council
- Edgar Faure - Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Jacques Chevallier - Minister of National Defense
- Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury - Minister of Armed Forces
- François Mitterrand - Minister of the Interior
- Robert Buron - Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs, and Planning
- Henri Ulver - Minister of Commerce and Industry
- Louis Aujoulat - Minister of Labour and Social Security
- Emmanuel Temple - Minister of Justice
- Raymond Schmittlein - Minister of Merchant Marine
- Jean Berthoin - Minister of National Education
- Jean Masson - Minister of Veterans and War Victims
- Roger Houdet - Minister of Agriculture
- Jean-Jacques Duglas - Minister of Overseas France
- Jacques Chaban-Delmas - Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism
- André Monteil - Minister of Public Health and Population
- Maurice Lemaire - Minister of Reconstruction and Housing
- Christian Fouchet - Minister of Moroccan and Tunisian Affairs
- Guy La Chambre - Minister of Relations with Partner States
| Preceded by: Paul Ramadier | Minister of Supply 1945 | Succeeded by: François Tanguy-Prigent |
| Preceded by: Jules Moch | Minister of Public Works and Transport 1947–1948 | Succeeded by: Henri Queuille |
| Preceded by: Paul Reynaud | Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs 1948 | Succeeded by: Henri Queuille |
| Preceded by: Henri Queuille | Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism 1948–1950 | Succeeded by: Jacques Chastellain |
| Preceded by: Pierre Mendès-France | Prime Minister of France 1955 | Succeeded by: Edgar Faure |
| Preceded by: Antoine Pinay | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1956–1958 | Succeeded by: René Pleven |