European Statesmen & Prime Ministers Codexery

Georges Clemenceau

French statesman and prime minister known as 'Father Victory' and 'The Tiger'.

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Georges Clemenceau was born in Mouilleron-en-Pareds, a rural and poor department of Vendée that had been a center of monarchist sympathies during the French Revolution.[1] He became a leading radical politician, journalist, and eventually Prime Minister of France, known for his fierce opposition to the Catholic Church in politics and his role in the Dreyfus Affair.[2][3][4]

Life and work

Clemenceau's father Benjamin was a political activist who instilled in him a love of learning and devotion to radical politics.[1] Clemenceau studied medicine in Paris, graduating in 1865 with a thesis on anatomical elements.[5] After the Franco-Prussian War he was elected mayor of the 18th arrondissement of Paris and to the National Assembly.[6] He became a leading figure in the Chamber of Deputies, known as "le Tombeur de ministères" for his role in bringing down governments.[7][4]

As Prime Minister from 1906 to 1909, he reformed police forces and ordered military action against striking workers.[8][4] On 23 February 1862, imperial police arrested Clemenceau for putting up posters that called for a demonstration, and he remained in Mazas Prison for 77 days.[9] Throughout World War I, Clemenceau strongly criticized the French government in power, claiming it was failing to make sufficient efforts to achieve victory.[10]

What the cited sources add

A 1991 biography by David S. Newhall, published by E. Mellen Press, confirms that Clemenceau's mother was a devout Protestant and his father an atheist.[11][2] An Oxford University Press book from 1995 by Hanioğlu records that Clemenceau supported the Young Turks against the Hamidian government.[12][13] According to the same source, Clemenceau remained an atheist his entire life and possessed thorough familiarity with the Bible.[11][2]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: David Watson, Georges Clemenceau: A Political Biography (1976) pp. 16–22. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: David Watson, Georges Clemenceau: A Political Biography (1978) p 17, 152.; David S. Newhall, "Clemenceau: A Life at War", E. Mellen Press, 1991, p. 526 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chisholm 1910, p. 482; "G.Clemenceau Museum – Paris" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chisholm 1910, p. 482 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Clemenceau (1865), pp. 7–11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Milza, Pierre, L'année terrible – La Commune (mars-juin 1871) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Watson, Georges Clemenceau: A Political Biography (1976).; Chisholm 1910, p. 482 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Watson, Georges Clemenceau: A Political Biography (1976). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Winock, "Clemenceau", Éditions Perrin, 2013, p. 73–90 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Watson 1974, pp265-8; Watson, Georges Clemenceau (1974) pp 249–72; Tuchman 1962, p425 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Open Library record, ISBN 9780889467859 ("Clemenceau"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  12. Open Library record, ISBN 0195091159 ("The Young Turks in opposition"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Georges Clemenceau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hanioğlu, "The Young Turks in Opposition", Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 81 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Georges Clemenceau (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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