1. Jean Letourneau was strongly anti-communist and in favor of maintaining French authority in the region.
31 Facts About Jean Letourneau
1. 2.
Jean Letourneau was born in Le Lude, Sarthe, on 18 September 1907.
3.
Jean Letourneau worked for several banks, then was appointed president of the Compagnie francaise des charbonnages de Dakar, a position he held until 1944.
4.
In 1933 Letourneau joined the Parti Democrate Populaire, a small party that tried to combine Christian social democracy with politics.
5.
Jean Letourneau worked in the Liberte movement in the southern zone from January 1941.
6.
Jean Letourneau returned to the north zone in 1942 and worked with Georges Bidault, president of the Conseil national de la Resistance.
7.
Jean Letourneau became a director of the new Christian democratic party, the Mouvement republicain populaire.
8.
Jean Letourneau was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Sarthe constituency on 21 October 1945 on the MRP platform.
9.
Jean Letourneau was reelected on the same platform on 2 June 1946,10 November 1946 and 17 June 1951.
10.
On 27 January 1946 Jean Letourneau was appointed Minister of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones in the Cabinet of Felix Gouin.
11.
Jean Letourneau was in favor of nationalization, but on 19 April 1946 opposed the draft Constitution of the Fourth Republic.
12.
Jean Letourneau was reelected on 2 June 1946, with a larger share of the vote, and on 6 August 1946 was again appointed PTT Minister.
13.
Jean Letourneau left office when Ramadier resigned on 24 November 1947 due to internal disputes in the SFIO.
14.
Jean Letourneau was president of the French Delegation to the United Nations conference on the Freedom of the Press and of Information from 23 March to 3 April 1948.
15.
Jean Letourneau was French delegate to the United Nations from 1948 to 1949.
16.
Jean Letourneau belonged to the MRP wing led by Georges Bidault that emphasized the role of the French Union, as opposed to the wing led by Robert Schuman that saw Europe as more important.
17.
Jean Letourneau was Minister of Overseas France from 28 October 1949 to 24 June 1950.
18.
Jean Letourneau was Minister of Information for a few days in July 1950.
19.
Jean Letourneau was appointed Minister of State for Relations with the Associated States in July 1950.
20.
Jean Letourneau held this post through six successive governments until 28 June 1953.
21.
Jean Letourneau thought that the colonial empire, the French Union, was key to the international status and economic health of France.
22.
Jean Letourneau's objectives were to maintain French influence in Indochina while allowing some political and military independence, but to prevent the communist guerrillas from taking power.
23.
In October 1949 Jean Letourneau moved to Indochina with a government mission accompanied by General Alphonse Juin.
24.
Jean Letourneau had to deal with a complex administrative situation, with an army commander in charge of military operations while a high commissioner supported by five commissioners was responsible for civil affairs.
25.
Jean Letourneau became high commissioner, while remaining Minister for the Associated States, and General Raoul Salan became commander in chief.
26.
On 27 April 1953 Jean Letourneau became commissioner-general, giving him huge power in defining the policy of France in Indochina.
27.
Jean Letourneau was forced out of office on 28 June 1953 in the aftermath.
28.
Jean Letourneau remained deputy for the Sarthe until the legislative elections of 2 January 1956, when he failed to retain his seat.
29.
Jean Letourneau was mayor of Cheville from 1953 to 1963, and was a Councillor of the Union francaise between 1956 and 1958.
30.
Jean Letourneau wrote many articles for local and national papers, and talked in broadcasts about Indochina and the French colonial problem in general.
31.
Jean Letourneau died on 16 March 1986 at the military hospital of Val de Grace.