Edouard Herriot, (born July 5, 1872 in Troyes, France – died March 26, 1957 in Lyon), French statesman and writer, was the long-time leader of the Radical Party. He held positions in nine different cabinets and was Prime Minister of France three times (1924–25, 1926, 1932).
Youth and Education
The son of an army officer, Herriot was educated at the École Normale Supérieure, from which he graduated in 1894. He taught at the lycée in Nantes, then in Lyon, where he acquired a great reputation as a scholar and teacher. His renown was enhanced by his study of Madame Récamier and her friends (1904) as well as by his incisive literary criticism in his Précis de l'histoire des lettres françaises (1905).
Entry into Local Politics
He began his political career in local government. In 1904, he became a Lyon city councilor and mayor of the city in 1905. He remained mayor of Lyon for the rest of his life, with the exception of a brief interruption during the Second World War. Under his administration, this rapidly growing industrial city developed numerous municipal services and facilities, thus enhancing its local prestige.
In 1910 he became a member of the general council and in 1912 senator for the Rhône department. He remained loyal to the Radical Party throughout his political career.
National Political Ascension
In December 1916, he entered the government for the first time, in the cabinet of Aristide Briand, where he demonstrated political acumen and administrative skills by reorganizing essential supply and transport services during the war.
Herriot then became the leader of the opposition to the post-war right-wing electoral coalition, the Bloc National. In 1924, he led the Cartel des Gauches, a left-wing coalition including Radicals and Socialists, and his electoral victory enabled him to form his first government in June 1924. He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. During his tenure, France accepted the Dawes Plan and agreed to withdraw troops from the Ruhr, sent by former Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré to force Germany to pay reparations. In April 1925, his government fell due to its financial policies, and in July 1926, his second government lasted only three days. He then joined Raymond Poincaré's cabinet as Minister of Education (1926–28).
Ministerial Career
In June 1932, Herriot returned to power as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. His government fell six months later when the Chamber of Deputies refused to pay the December installment of France's war debts to the United States. Subsequently, he served as Deputy Prime Minister under Gaston Doumergue in 1934 and again under Pierre Étienne Flandin in 1934–35. In June 1936, he was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies, a position he held until France's surrender to Germany in June 1940 during the Second World War.
War Period and Commitments
On July 10, 1940, in Vichy, when the National Assembly granted full powers to Marshal Philippe Pétain, Herriot abstained from voting. In August 1942, when Pétain dissolved the permanent offices of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, Herriot protested alongside Jules Jeanneney, President of the Senate. For this, he was arrested and deported to Germany. In April 1945, he was liberated from internment by Soviet troops. After being re-elected mayor of Lyon, he returned to Germany to resume his duties. He also resumed his position as president of the Radical Party and was elected to the Constituent Assemblies of 1945 and 1946.
Post-War Contributions
In 1946, he was elected a member of the French Academy. The following year, he was elected president of the new National Assembly of the Fourth Republic, a position he held until his retirement in January 1954.
From 1948, Herriot participated in the Council of Europe. From 1952 to 1954, however, he opposed the creation of a European Defence Community because he feared it would lead to the rearmament of West Germany. Herriot remained faithful throughout his life to the liberal ideals of international cooperation. His intellectual gifts and honesty inspired respect and affection.
