Jean Lecanuet
Encyclopedia
Jean Adrien François Lecanuet (4 March 1920 Rouen
, Seine-Maritime – 2 February 1993 Neuilly-sur-Seine
, Hauts-de-Seine) was a French centrist politician. He was born to a family of modest means, and gravitated towards literature during his studies. He received his diploma at the age of 22, becoming the youngest agrégé (full professor) in France. He participated in the Second World War French Resistance
movement. He was arrested by the German forces in August 1944 but managed to escape. After the Liberation, he became a general inspector at the Ministry of Defence. Under the Fourth Republic
, he held ministerial posts numerous times (11 posts in 10 years) and was a member of the Christian-Democratic Popular Republican Movement
(MRP). From 1951 to 1955, he was MRP deputy from the Seine-Inférieure region. He became senator from Seine-Maritime
in 1959 and was president of the MRP from 1963 to 1965.
In 1965, he ran in the presidential election
as a center-right candidate. He was supported by Paul Reynaud
. He advocated modernity and European integration and declared to represent à third way between Gaullism on the one hand and the Socialist and Communist Left on the other hand. His "modern-style" campaign and dashing smile had some journalists nickname him "the French Kennedy". Lecanuet obtained 3 777 120 votes (15,6 %) in the election's first round, forcing Charles de Gaulle
to compete in a second round against François Mitterrand
. He replaced the ageing MRP by the Democratic Centre
, integrating the liberal-conservative National Centre of Independents and Peasants
.
In 1972, he founded the Reforming Movement
with Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber
. During the French legislative elections of 1973, Lecanuet negotiated the withdrawal of candidates with Pierre Messmer
to ensure the success of the majority. Elected deputy of Seine-Maritime. Actively participated in the 1974 presidential election campaign
in support of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
. He was Minister of Justice in Jacques Chirac
's first cabinet (1974–1976). From 1976 to 1977, he was Minister of State in charge of planning and the l’Aménagement du territoire (zoning commission) Raymond Barre
's first cabinet. In 1978, he was elected president of the UDF
, the party coalition created to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. He held that position until 1988. From 1979 to 1988, he was a Deputy in the European Parliament
and, as Senator for Seine-Maritime
, the French Senate
's chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Armed Forces Commission, a post that he had already held between 1971 and 1973.
In 1986 at the beginning of the first period of "cohabitation" in modern French politics (a President and Prime Minister from opposing parties sharing power) Chirac nominated Lecanuet as Foreign Minister, but President Francois Mitterrand
vetoed the appointment, along with some other nominees of Chirac's.
In 1968, he was elected Mayor of Rouen
, a position he held until his death in 1993.
in Rouen
Secretary of State for Relations with States involved : 1955–1956.
Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice : 1974–1976.
Minister of State, Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice : January–August 1976.
Minister of State, Planning and Plan : 1976–1977.
Electoral mandates
European Parliament
Member of European Parliament
: 1979–1988 (Resignation). Elected in 1979, reelected in 1984.
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Seine-Maritime
: 1951–1955 (Resignation) / 1973–1974 (Became minister in 1974) / March–September 1986 (Reelected in the Senate in September). Elected in 1951, reelected in 1973, 1986.
Senate of France
President of the Foreign Affairs Commission in the Senate : 1971-1973 / 1978-1993.
Senator of Seine-Maritime
: 1959–1973 (Reelected in the National Assembly in 1973) / 1977–1986 (Reelected in the National Assembly in 1986) / 1986–1993 (He died in 1993). Elected in 1959, reelected in 1968, 1977, 1986.
General Council
President of the General council of Seine-Maritime
: 1974–1993 (He died in 1993). Reelected in 1976, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1992.
General councillor of Seine-Maritime
: 1958–1993 (He died in 1993). Reelected in 1964, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988.
Municipal Council
Mayor of Rouen
: 1968–1993 (He died in 1993). Reelected in 1971, 1977, 1983, 1989.
Municipal councillor of Rouen
: 1968–1993 (He died in 1993). Reelected in 1971, 1977, 1983, 1989.
Political functions
President of the Union for French Democracy
: 1978–1988
President of the Centre of Social Democrats : 1976–1982.
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, Seine-Maritime – 2 February 1993 Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
, Hauts-de-Seine) was a French centrist politician. He was born to a family of modest means, and gravitated towards literature during his studies. He received his diploma at the age of 22, becoming the youngest agrégé (full professor) in France. He participated in the Second World War French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
movement. He was arrested by the German forces in August 1944 but managed to escape. After the Liberation, he became a general inspector at the Ministry of Defence. Under the Fourth Republic
Fourth Republic
Fourth Republic may refer to:* French Fourth Republic * Fourth Republic of the Philippines * Fourth Republic of South Korea * The Fourth Republic of Niger...
, he held ministerial posts numerous times (11 posts in 10 years) and was a member of the Christian-Democratic Popular Republican Movement
Popular Republican Movement
The Popular Republican Movement was a French Christian democratic party of the Fourth Republic...
(MRP). From 1951 to 1955, he was MRP deputy from the Seine-Inférieure region. He became senator from Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
in 1959 and was president of the MRP from 1963 to 1965.
In 1965, he ran in the presidential election
French presidential election, 1965
The 1965 French presidential election was the first presidential election by direct universal suffrage of the Fifth Republic. It was also the first presidential election by direct universal suffrage since the Second Republic in 1848. It was won by incumbent president Charles de Gaulle who resigned...
as a center-right candidate. He was supported by Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. He was the penultimate Prime Minister of the Third Republic and vice-president of the Democratic Republican Alliance center-right...
. He advocated modernity and European integration and declared to represent à third way between Gaullism on the one hand and the Socialist and Communist Left on the other hand. His "modern-style" campaign and dashing smile had some journalists nickname him "the French Kennedy". Lecanuet obtained 3 777 120 votes (15,6 %) in the election's first round, forcing Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
to compete in a second round against François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
. He replaced the ageing MRP by the Democratic Centre
Democratic Centre (France)
Democratic Centre was a French Christian-Democratic and centrist party. It existed from 1966 to 1976 when it merged with another party into the Centre of Social Democrats.- History :...
, integrating the liberal-conservative National Centre of Independents and Peasants
National Centre of Independents and Peasants
The National Centre of Independents and Peasants is a liberal-conservative and conservative-liberal political party in France, founded in 1949 by the merger of the National Centre of Independents with the...
.
In 1972, he founded the Reforming Movement
Reforming Movement
The Reforming Movement was a French centrist political group created in 1972 by the alliance between the Radical Party led by Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber and the Christian-democratic Democratic Centre headed by Jean Lecanuet....
with Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber
Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber
Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, often referred to as JJSS was a French journalist and politician. He co-founded L'Express in 1953 with Françoise Giroud, and then went on to become president of the Radical Party in 1971...
. During the French legislative elections of 1973, Lecanuet negotiated the withdrawal of candidates with Pierre Messmer
Pierre Messmer
Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under Louis XV – and then as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1972 to 1974...
to ensure the success of the majority. Elected deputy of Seine-Maritime. Actively participated in the 1974 presidential election campaign
French presidential election, 1974
Presidential elections were held in :France in 1974, following the death of President Georges Pompidou. They went to a second round, and were won by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing by a margin of 1.6%...
in support of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
. He was Minister of Justice in Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
's first cabinet (1974–1976). From 1976 to 1977, he was Minister of State in charge of planning and the l’Aménagement du territoire (zoning commission) Raymond Barre
Raymond Barre
Raymond Octave Joseph Barre was a French centre-right politician and economist. He was a Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs under three Presidents and later served as Prime Minister under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing from 1976 until 1981...
's first cabinet. In 1978, he was elected president of the UDF
Union for French Democracy
The Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
, the party coalition created to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. He held that position until 1988. From 1979 to 1988, he was a Deputy in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and, as Senator for Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
, the French Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
's chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Armed Forces Commission, a post that he had already held between 1971 and 1973.
In 1986 at the beginning of the first period of "cohabitation" in modern French politics (a President and Prime Minister from opposing parties sharing power) Chirac nominated Lecanuet as Foreign Minister, but President Francois Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
vetoed the appointment, along with some other nominees of Chirac's.
In 1968, he was elected Mayor of Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, a position he held until his death in 1993.
Personal life
He was educated at the Lycée Pierre CorneilleLycée Pierre Corneille (Rouen)
The Lycée Pierre-Corneille is a school in Rouen, France. It was founded by the Archbishop of Rouen, Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon and run by the Jesuits to educate the children of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie in accordance with the purest doctrinal principles of Roman Catholicism...
in Rouen
Political career
Governmental functionsSecretary of State for Relations with States involved : 1955–1956.
Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice : 1974–1976.
Minister of State, Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice : January–August 1976.
Minister of State, Planning and Plan : 1976–1977.
Electoral mandates
European Parliament
Member of European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
: 1979–1988 (Resignation). Elected in 1979, reelected in 1984.
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
: 1951–1955 (Resignation) / 1973–1974 (Became minister in 1974) / March–September 1986 (Reelected in the Senate in September). Elected in 1951, reelected in 1973, 1986.
Senate of France
President of the Foreign Affairs Commission in the Senate : 1971-1973 / 1978-1993.
Senator of Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
: 1959–1973 (Reelected in the National Assembly in 1973) / 1977–1986 (Reelected in the National Assembly in 1986) / 1986–1993 (He died in 1993). Elected in 1959, reelected in 1968, 1977, 1986.
General Council
President of the General council of Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
: 1974–1993 (He died in 1993). Reelected in 1976, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1992.
General councillor of Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
: 1958–1993 (He died in 1993). Reelected in 1964, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988.
Municipal Council
Mayor of Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
: 1968–1993 (He died in 1993). Reelected in 1971, 1977, 1983, 1989.
Municipal councillor of Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
: 1968–1993 (He died in 1993). Reelected in 1971, 1977, 1983, 1989.
Political functions
President of the Union for French Democracy
Union for French Democracy
The Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
: 1978–1988
President of the Centre of Social Democrats : 1976–1982.