Édouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier | |
|---|---|
Daladier in the 1930s | |
| Prime Minister of France | |
| In office 10 April 1938 – 21 March 1940 | |
| President | Albert Lebrun |
| Preceded by | Léon Blum |
| Succeeded by | Paul Reynaud |
| In office 30 January 1934 – 9 February 1934 | |
| President | Albert Lebrun |
| Preceded by | Camille Chautemps |
| Succeeded by | Gaston Doumergue |
| In office 31 January 1933 – 26 October 1933 | |
| President | Albert Lebrun |
| Preceded by | Joseph Paul-Boncour |
| Succeeded by | Albert Sarraut |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 4 June 1936 – 18 May 1940 | |
| Prime Minister | Léon Blum Camille Chautemps Himself |
| Preceded by | Louis Maurin |
| Succeeded by | Paul Reynaud |
| In office 18 December 1932 – 29 January 1934 | |
| Prime Minister | Joseph Paul-Boncour Himself |
| Preceded by | Joseph Paul-Boncour |
| Succeeded by | Jean Fabry |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 2 June 1946 – 8 December 1958 | |
| Constituency | Vaucluse |
| In office 16 November 1919 – 10 July 1940 | |
| Constituency | Vaucluse |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 June 1884 |
| Died | 10 October 1970 (aged 86) Paris, France |
| Party | Radical-Socialist |
| Spouses | Madeleine Laffont
(m. 1917; died 1932)Jeanne Boucoiran
(m. 1951) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Collège-lycée Ampère |
| Profession |
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| Signature | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | France |
| Branch | French Army |
| Service years |
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| Rank | Captain |
| Conflicts / battles | |
Édouard Daladier (French: [edwaʁ daladje]; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, who was the Prime Minister of France in 1933, 1934 and again from 1938 to 1940.
Daladier was born in Carpentras and began his political career before World War I. During the war, he fought on the Western Front and was decorated for his service. After the war, he became a leading figure in the Radical Party and Prime Minister in 1933 and 1934. Daladier was Minister of Defence from 1936 to 1940 and Prime Minister again in 1938. As head of government, he expanded the French welfare state in 1939.
Along with Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, Daladier signed the Munich Agreement in 1938, which gave Nazi Germany control over the Sudetenland. After Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. During the Phoney War, France's failure to aid Finland against the Soviet Union's invasion during the Winter War led to Daladier's resignation on 21 March 1940 and his replacement by Paul Reynaud. Daladier remained Minister of Defence until 19 May, when Reynaud took over the portfolio personally after the French defeat at Sedan.
After the Fall of France, Daladier was tried for treason by the Vichy government during the Riom Trial and imprisoned first in Fort du Portalet, then in Buchenwald concentration camp, and finally in Itter Castle. After the Battle of Castle Itter, Daladier resumed his political career as a member of the French Chamber of Deputies from 1946 to 1958. He died in Paris in 1970.