Louis Barthou

Louis Barthou
59th Prime Minister of France
In office 22 March 1913 – 9 December 1913
Preceded by	Aristide Briand
Succeeded by	Gaston Doumergue
Personal details
Born	Jean Louis Barthou 25 August 1862 Oloron-Sainte-Marie
Died	Marseille
Political party	Independent
Signature

Jean Louis Barthou (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɑ̃ lwi baʁtu]; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, Barthou's time as Prime Minister saw the introduction (in July 1913) of allowances to families with children.

Biography

Early life

Louis Barthou was born on 25 August 1862 in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France.

Career

He served as Deputy from his home constituency. He was an authority on trade union history and law.

He was Prime Minister from 22 March 1913 to 9 December 1913. In social policy, Barthou's time as prime minister saw the passage of a law in June 1913 aimed at safeguarding women workers before and after childbirth.

Barthou (right) with Polish marshal Józef Piłsudski in 1934

He also held ministerial office thirteen other times. He served as Foreign Minister in 1934. He was the primary figure behind the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance of 1935, though it was signed by his successor, Pierre Laval. As a national World War I hero and a recognized author, Barthou was elected to the Académie française at the end of that war.

In 1934, he tried to create an Eastern Pact that would include Germany, Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Baltic states on the basis of a guarantee by France of the European borders of the Soviet Union and the eastern borders of the then Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union. He succeeded in obtaining entry of the Soviet Union into the League of Nations in September 1934.

Universal Newsreel's film about the assassination.

Death

As Foreign Minister, Barthou met King Alexander I of Yugoslavia during his state visit to Marseille in October 1934. On 9 October, the King and Barthou were assassinated by Velicko Kerin, a Bulgarian revolutionary wielding a handgun. One of the bullets struck Barthou in the arm, passing through and fatally severing an artery. He died of excessive blood loss less than an hour later. The assassination was planned in Rome by Ante Pavelić, head of the Croatian Ustaše, in August 1934. Pavelić was assisted by Georg Percevic, a former Austro-Hungarian military officer. France unsuccessfully requested extradition of Percevic and Pavelić. This assassination ended the careers of the Bouches-du-Rhone prefect, Pierre Jouhannaud, and the director of the Surete Nationale, Jean Berthoin.

A ballistic report on the bullets found in the car was made in 1935, but the results were not made available to the public until 1974. They revealed that Barthou was hit by an 8 mm Modèle 1892 revolver round commonly used in weapons carried by French police. Thus he was killed during the frantic police response rather than by the assassin.

Legacy

The assassination of Barthou and the King led to the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Terrorism concluded at Geneva by the League of Nations on 16 November 1937. The Convention was signed by 25 nations, ratified only by India. Barthou was granted a state funeral four days after his demise.

Ministries

Barthou's ministry, 22 March 1913 – 9 December 1913

• Louis Barthou — President of the Council and Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
• Stéphen Pichon — Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Eugène Étienne — Minister of War
• Louis Lucien Klotz — Minister of the Interior
• Charles Dumont — Minister of Finance
• Henry Chéron — Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
• Antony Ratier — Minister of Justice
• Pierre Baudin — Minister of Marine
• Étienne Clémentel — Minister of Agriculture
• Jean Morel — Minister of Colonies
• Joseph Thierry — Minister of Public Works
• Alfred Massé — Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs

External links

• Louis Barthou at Find a Grave
• "The King is Dead, Long Live the Balkans! Watching the Marseilles Murders of 1934" The Watson Institute

Political offices
Preceded by Charles Jonnart	Minister of Public Works 1894–1895	Succeeded by Ludovic Dupuy-Dutemps
Preceded by Ferdinand Sarrien	Minister of the Interior 1896–1898	Succeeded by Henri Brisson
Preceded by Armand Gauthier de l'Aude (Public Works) Georges Trouillot (Posts & Telegraphs)	Minister of Public Works, Posts and Telegraphs (France) 1906–1909	Succeeded by Alexandre Millerand
Preceded by Aristide Briand	Minister of Justice 1909–1910	Succeeded by Théodore Girard
Preceded by Aristide Briand	Minister of Justice 1913	Succeeded by Antony Ratier
Preceded by Aristide Briand	President of the Council 1913	Succeeded by Gaston Doumergue
Preceded by Théodore Steeg	Minister of Public Instruction 1913	Succeeded by René Viviani
Preceded by –	Minister of State 1917 With: Léon Bourgeois, Paul Doumer, Jean Dupuy	Succeeded by Léon Bourgeois Paul Doumer Jean Dupuy
Preceded by Alexandre Ribot	Minister of Foreign Affairs 1917	Succeeded by Stéphen Pichon
Preceded by Flaminius Rabierti	Minister of War 1921–1922	Succeeded by André Maginot
Preceded by Laurent Bonnevay	Minister of Justice 1922	Succeeded by Maurice Colrat
Preceded by Maurice Colrat	Minister of Justice 1926–1929	Succeeded by Lucien Hubert
Preceded by André Maginot	Minister of War 1930–1931	Succeeded by André Maginot
Preceded by Édouard Daladier	Minister of Foreign Affairs 1934	Succeeded by Pierre Laval