| 24th | Top state leaders in 1946 |
| 15th | Top Companions of the Liberation |
| Georges Bidault | |
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In office 24 June 1946 – 28 November 1946 |
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| Preceded by | Felix Gouin |
| Succeeded by | Léon Blum |
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In office 28 October 1949 – 2 July 1950 |
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| Preceded by | Henri Queuille |
| Succeeded by | Henri Queuille |
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| Born | 5 October 1899 Moulins, France |
| Died | 27 January 1983 (aged 83) Cambo-les-Bains, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Political party | MRP |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Georges-Augustin Bidault (5 October 1899 – 27 January 1983) was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and prime minister on several occasions before he joined the Organisation armée secrète.
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Bidault was born in Moulins, Allier.
He studied in the Sorbonne and became a college history teacher. In 1932 he helped to found the Catholic Association of French Youth and the left-wing anti-fascist newspaper l'Aube. He had a column in the paper and, among other things, protested against the Munich Agreement in 1938.
After the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the French army. He was captured during the Fall of France and was briefly imprisoned. After his release in July 1941, he became a teacher at the Lycée du Parc in Lyon and joined the Liberté group of French Resistance that eventually merged with Combat. Jean Moulin recruited him to organize an underground press and the Combat underground newspaper.
In his work in the resistance, he was helped by his private administrative assistant Laure Diebold.
Bidault participated in the forming of the Conseil National de la Résistance and, after the Gestapo captured Moulin, he became its new chairman. In 1944 he formed a Resistance Charter that recommended an extensive post-war reform program. After the liberation of Paris he represented the Resistance in the victory parade. Charles de Gaulle appointed him as a foreign minister of his provisional government in 25 August. He was the founder of the Mouvement Républicain Populaire (MRP).
After World War II, Bidault served as foreign minister in Félix Gouin's provisional government in 1946. On 19 June 1946 the National Constituent Assembly elected him as president of the provisional government. His government, formed on 15 June, was composed of socialists, communists and Bidault's own MRP. He again became foreign minister. The government held elections to the National Assembly on 29 November after which Bidault resigned. His successor was Léon Blum.
Bidault served in various French governments, first as foreign minister under Paul Ramadier and Robert Schuman. In 1949 he became the President of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) but his government lasted only 8 months. In Henri Queuille's governments in 1950-1951 he held the office of Vice-president of the Council and under Rene Pleven and Edgar Faure also the post of defense minister.
In 1952 Bidault became an honorary president of MRP. On 1 June 1953 President Vincent Auriol assigned him to form his own government but the National Assembly refused to give him the official mandate at 10 June. In 1953 Bidault became a presidential candidate but withdrew after the second round.
In April 1958 Bidault again became prime minister but did not form a cabinet and had a hand in forming the conservative Christian Democratic Movement. He also supported De Gaulle's presidency after the outbreak of the Algerian War of Independence.
In 1961 Bidault became President of the Executive Council of the Rally for French Algeria and opposed De Gaulle's policy of Algerian independence. He established his own National Resistance Council within the OAS. In June 1962 he was accused of conspiring against the state as the head of the OAS and stripped of his parliamentary immunity. He left for exile in Brazil. In 1967 he moved to Belgium and in 1968 returned to France after benefiting from an amnesty.
Georges Bidault died in 1983 in Cambo-les-Bains.
Changes:
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Pierre Laval |
Minister of Foreign
Affairs 1944–1946 |
Succeeded by Léon Blum |
| Preceded by Félix Gouin |
Chairman of the
Provisional Government 1946 |
Succeeded by Léon Blum |
| Preceded by Léon Blum |
Minister of Foreign
Affairs 1947–1948 |
Succeeded by Robert Schuman |
| Preceded by Henri Queuille |
President of the Council of
Ministers 1949–1950 |
Succeeded by Henri Queuille |
| Preceded by Henri Queuille |
Vice President of the Council of Ministers 1950 |
Succeeded by — |
| Preceded by — |
Vice President of the Council of Ministers 1951–1952 |
Succeeded by — |
| Preceded by Jules Moch |
Minister of National Defense 1951–1952 |
Succeeded by René Pleven |
| Preceded by Robert Schuman |
Minister of Foreign
Affairs 1953–1954 |
Succeeded by Pierre Mendès-France |
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