From time immemorial, the French land was famous for outstanding rulers and politicians. It so happened that a cohort of the best turned out to be a man named Pompidou Georges, who had a significant enough influence on the formation of France as one of the most powerful states in Europe and contributed to the strengthening of its authority in the international arena. His fate and actions will be discussed in our article.
Milestones: birth, parents, education
Pompidou Georges Born July 5, 1911 in a city called Montbudif, located in the Cantal department. His father and mother were simple teachers, so it cannot be said that the future president of the French land was of any noble origin.
In 1931, the young man became a student at the Higher Normal School, but before that there was training in preparatory courses open at the Lyceum of Louis the Great. Note the fact that Leopold Sengor studied with him there, who later became the head of Senegal. Both students were friends.
In 1934, Pompidou took first place in the competition in philological disciplines and began to teach. Initially, he practices in Marseille, and later in Paris. By the way, the young specialist received two diplomas - Ekol Normal and the Free School of Political Science.
Personal life
Married Pompidou Georges became October 29, 1935. His chosen one was Claude Kaur. Unfortunately, the couple did not have children. And so in 1942, the couple adopted a boy named Allen. Their adoptive son is now the chairman of the European Patent Committee. The family was very friendly, and its members were never separated for a long time. As for the hobbies of a noble couple, even before the start of the war with Germany, they were able to assemble a fairly large collection of various works of art.
Activities during the Second World War
During this period, Georges was forced to interrupt his teaching activities and go to serve in the army. He was enrolled in the 141st Alpine Infantry Regiment. Until the defeat of France (in 1940), Pompidou was a lieutenant, and later became a member of the Resistance Movement.
The beginning of a political career
After the war, Pompidou Georges in 1945 he became a member of the Provisional Government, where he held the position of referent for education. It was during this period that his close cooperation with the then President Charles de Gaulle began. After some time, our hero moves to the Council of State, and a little later - to the committee on tourism. As a matter of fact, Georges appeared in the government thanks to his acquaintance with the outstanding economist Gaston Palevsky. As for relations with de Gaulle, Pompidou quickly became friends with him, but their warm relationship ended in a dramatic way, but we'll talk about this a little later.
Advisor to the General
In 1953, de Gaulle was out of work, because he did not see the future of his party. Together with him, Pompidou temporarily dropped out of politics, who, in turn, became the manager at the bank of the most famous financiers - the Rothschilds.
In 1958, the disgraced general returned to power again, and with it, Georges Pompidou, who, thanks to the patronage of his friend, took the post of director of the cabinet. Georges took an active part in the formation of the government. In the period from 1959 to 1962 he was again involved in the Rothschild business, but in parallel with this work he holds meetings in the newly created Constitutional Council. Pompidou was also involved in the preparation of the Evian Accords, which secured the independent status of Algeria (1962).
Prime Minister
Georges Pompidou, whose photo is given in this article, took this position in 1962. By the way, the Frenchman’s premiership dragged on for six years (April 1962 - July 1968), which is still a record for the republic. Nobody has been more than him for so long in the chair of the head of government. During his work, five cabinet ministers were replaced.
George’s assertion at the indicated post was not hindered by either his lack of political authority (he could not be called a well-known figure in politics), or the fact that he was never a deputy (this requirement ceased to be relevant just because of the Gaullist constitution). The government declaration of Pompidou was approved by 259 deputies. But on October 5, 1962, the assembly announced a vote of no confidence in the cabinet. In turn, the head of state de Gaulle exercised his right to dissolve the parliament, due to which Georges remained at the helm of the Cabinet.
A referendum was also held on amending the constitution, after which the Gaullists were able to win parliamentary elections. Of course, this alignment led to the strengthening of the position of Pompidou.
But in the mid-60s, Georges' team was waiting for tests in the form of massive mining strikes, increased inflation and strengthened political opponents. In 1967, de Gaulle's party was able to only slightly outperform its competitors in the elections.
Quarrel with de Gaulle
Georges Pompidou, biography which will be interesting to study for all educated people, became a popular person in 1968. Such an increase in popularity among the people was promoted by the activity of the French politician himself, who, in the midst of unrest and strikes, was able to extinguish the fire of rebellion among the rebels in the language of diplomacy. As a former teacher, he easily managed to negotiate with representatives of the rebels, to consult with them. It was Pompidou who suggested de Gaulle not to hold referendums already bored with everyone, but to call unscheduled parliamentary elections. Thanks to this move, the general strike was stopped. Grenelle agreements were concluded.
However, such activity led to the end of a good relationship with de Gaulle. And even the victory in the parliamentary elections of the Gaullist party (in 1968) was regarded not as a triumph of the general himself, but as trust in Pompidou on the part of the common people. In the end, Georges was forced to leave his post and give it to de Murville.
In January 1969, answering journalists' questions in Rome, Pompidou hinted that he was going to run for president. For this, de Gaulle's team immediately began looking for incriminating evidence on the former ally. All this ultimately led to the spread of offensive rumors that defamed the glorious name of Pompidou's wife. It goes without saying that the result was a final break in the once friendly relations of two prominent French politicians.
Presidential job
On April 28, 1969, de Gaulle was forced to resign, which allowed France to begin a new round of its history.
In turn, Georges Pompidou took advantage of this. A brief biography of him testifies that he became one of the favorites of the presidential election.
In the first round of voting, he was able to get around his main competitor, however, the available votes were not enough to fix the final victory.
The second round was held on June 15, and Pompidou won 58.2% of the vote. It was a triumph! Four days later, the Constitutional Council officially proclaimed Georges the new president of the country. June 20, he took up his duties.
Work on the main state post for Pompidou began with a fairly significant devaluation of the franc, which amounted to 12%. But skillful actions were able to smooth out the consequences of this event. It is worth noting that during the reign of Georges, large-scale industrialization and development of transport began in the country. It was under him that high-speed roads were actively built, and the automation and mechanization of agricultural activity increased.
It is also important that Georges Pompidou, whose policy contributed to bringing France to a new level, paid attention to the nuclear program. At the same time, he believed that the atom must be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, not in a military aspect. In March 1973, a special service was established to exercise control over atomic energy.
If they were to talk about Pompidou’s foreign policy, he strove for independence of the republic from the general course of NATO and the USA. The President believed that it was necessary to strengthen relations within Europe itself. He maintained ties with the Soviet Union and China. In general, the Frenchman preferred informal communication with the heads of other countries, inviting them to a joint hunt or lunch and holding meetings “without ties”.
End of life
Georges Pompidou (his quotes went to the people and many of them are still used today) died on April 2, 1974 due to blood poisoning. However, the infection entered the bloodstream due to weakened immunity, since over the past few years the head of the Fifth Republic has been ill with oncology.
His catchphrases were: “The city must take the car”, “French and French! De Gaulle died, France became a widow! ”