Christian Pineau (French pronunciation: [kʁistjɑ̃ pino]; 14 October 1904, in Chaumont-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne, France – 5 April 1995, in Paris)[1] was a noted French Resistance fighter, who later served an important term as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1956 through 1958.
Pineau was born in 1904 in Chaumont-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne, France.[1] His father was a colonel in the French Army died when he was a young child.[1] His mother married again to the French playwright Jean Giraudoux.[1] Later, Christian Pineau would say that it was Giraudoux who gave him his love of writing.[citation needed] He was educated at the École alsacienne in Paris and graduated with degrees in law and in political science.[2] In 1931 he joined the staff of the Bank of France, and later worked for the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas.[2] In 1937 he founded the journal Banque et Bourse.[2]
A World War II French Resistance leader who established a network called Phalanx, Pineau helped found the underground newspaper Libération.[1][2] He was a close ally of Charles de Gaulle and went on dangerous secret missions passing communications between occupied France and the Free France headquarters in London.[1] He was arrested by the Gestapo in September 1942 but escaped.[2] He was arrested again in 1943 and evaded a death sentence through forged identity papers which hid his true identity.[1] He was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp, and remained there until it was liberated by American soldiers in 1945.[1][2]
Pineau represented the Sarthe department as a Socialist in the French National Assembly from 1946 to 1958.[2] After the war, he served as a minister in French governments, 1945–1958.[2] He was minister of supply in Charles de Gaulle's government (1945) and minister of public works (1947–1950) in various governments.[2]
Pineau was finance minister for a short time in 1948.[citation needed] He was designated as prime minister of France by President René Coty after the February 1955 resignation of Pierre Mendès-France, but the National Assembly refused to ratify his cabinet by 312 votes against 268; his prime ministership lasted for two days between 17 and 19 February 1955.[citation needed]
As foreign minister (February 1956 – May 1958), Pineau was responsible for handling the Suez crisis and for signing the Treaty of Rome on behalf of France.[2] With Guy Mollet, he visited Moscow.[citation needed] In October 1956, he signed the Protocol of Sèvres with Great Britain and Israel on behalf of France.[2]
Pineau was a lifelong advocate of European integration.[citation needed]
Pineau is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris.[citation needed]
