French statesman Raymond Poincaré (1860-1934) was president during World War I and then prime minister during a series of financial crises. He was a conservative, committed to political and social stability.
Raymond Poincaré: biography
The future president of France was born in Bar-le-Duc, a city in the north-east of the country, on August 20, 1860, in the family of engineer Nicolas-Antoine Poincaré, who later became inspector general of bridges and roads. Raymond studied law at the University of Paris, was admitted to the bar in 1882, and continued to practice law in Paris. The extremely ambitious Poincaré gave his all to be the best in everything he did, and at the age of 20 he managed to become the youngest lawyer in France. As a lawyer, he successfully defended Jules Verne in a libel suit brought by chemist and explosive inventor Eugène Turpin, who claimed to be the inspiration for the mad scientist depicted in the novel Flag of the Motherland.
In 1887, Raymond Poincaré (pictured later in the article) was elected deputy from the French department of Meuse. Thus began his careerpolitics. In later years, he rose to cabinet positions, including the position of Minister of Education and Finance. In 1895, Poincare was elected vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative assembly of the French Parliament). Nevertheless, in 1899 he refused a request from French President Émile Loubet (1838-1929) to form a coalition government. The strong-willed, conservative nationalist Poincare did not agree to accept the socialist minister into the coalition. In 1903, he retired from the Chamber of Deputies and practiced law and served in the less politically significant Senate until 1912.
Prime and President
Raymond Poincaré returned to big politics when he became prime minister in January 1912. In this most powerful position in France, he proved himself to be a strong leader and foreign minister. To everyone's surprise, the following year he decided to run for president, a relatively minor office, and was elected to that office in January 1913
Unlike previous presidents, Poincare took an active part in shaping policy. A strong sense of patriotism prompted him to work diligently to ensure the defense of France, strengthening the alliance with England and Russia and supporting laws to increase military service from two to three years. Although he worked for the good of the world, the Lorraine-born Poincare was suspicious of Germany, which took over the area in 1871.
War withGermany
When the First World War broke out in August 1914, Raymond Poincaré, President of France, proved to be a strong military leader and a stronghold of the nation's fighting spirit. Indeed, he showed his allegiance to the cause of a united France when, in 1917, he asked his longtime political opponent Georges Clemenceau to form a government. Poincare believed that Clemenceau was the most competent candidate for the duties of prime minister and could lead the country, despite his leftist political views, which the French president opposed.
Versailles Peace Treaty and German reparations
Raymond Poincaré disagreed with Clemenceau over the Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919, which determined the terms of peace after the First World War. He was firmly convinced that Germany should reimburse France for a significant amount of reparations and take responsibility for starting the war. Although American and British leaders considered the treaty too strict, the document, which contained significant financial and territorial demands on Germany, according to Poincaré, was not harsh enough.
Occupation of the Ruhr
Later, Poincaré showed his aggressive stance towards Germany when he again took over as prime minister in 1922. During this term, he also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. When the Germans failed to recover their reparation payments in January 1923, Poincaré ordered French troops to occupy the Ruhr valley - a majorindustrial region in the western part of Germany. Despite the occupation, the German government refused to make the payment. The passive resistance of the German workers against the French authorities damaged the German economy. The Deutsche Mark collapsed, the French economy also suffered due to the cost of the occupation.
Election defeat
German-Soviet propaganda of the 1920s depicted the July crisis of 1914 as Poincaré-la-guerre (Poincaré's war), the aim of which was to dismember Germany. Negotiations about this were allegedly conducted since 1912 by Emperor Nicholas II and the "mad militarist and revanchist" Raymond Poincaré. Information about this was published on the front pages of the French communist newspaper L'Humanite. The President of France and Nicholas II were accused of having plunged the world into the First World War. This propaganda proved highly effective in the 1920s, and to a certain extent, Poincaré's reputation has yet to be restored.
In 1924, the British and American governments negotiated a settlement in an attempt to stabilize the German economy and ease the terms of reparations. In the same year, Poincaré's party was defeated in the general election, and Raymond stepped down as prime minister.
Financial crisis of 1926
Raymond Poincaré didn't stay idle for long. In 1926, amid a serious economic crisis in France, he was again asked to form a government and assume the role of prime minister. To improvefinancial situation, the politician acted quickly and decisively: government spending was cut, interest rates were raised, new taxes were introduced, and the value of the franc was stabilized by pegging it to the gold standard. The growth of public confidence resulted in the prosperity of the country, which followed the measures of Poincaré. The April 1928 general election showed popular support for his party and role as Prime Minister.
Raymond Poincaré: personal life
An outstanding politician had an outstanding family. His brother Lucien (1862–1920) was a physicist and became Inspector General in 1902. Raymond's cousin Ari Poincaré was a famous mathematician.
Poincare met his wife Henriette Adeline Benucci in 1901. She was the mistress of a salon for intellectuals in Paris and had already been married twice. The civil ceremony took place in 1904 and the ecclesiastical one shortly after Poincaré became President of France in 1913.
Recent years
November 7, 1928, attacked by the radical socialist party, Poincaré was forced to resign. Within a week, he formed a new ministry and served his final term as prime minister. In July 1929, citing poor he alth, the politician left the cabinet and then turned down an offer to become prime minister in 1930.
Raymond Poincaré died in Paris on October 15, 1934 at the age of 74. He devoted almost his entire life to public service, and his work inas President during World War I, combined with his financial savvy as prime minister in later years, made him a great leader and a man who valued his country above all else.
