Maurice Thorez was a French politician and longtime leader of the French Communist Party from 1930 until his death.
11 Facts About Maurice Thorez
2.
Maurice Thorez served as Deputy Prime Minister of France from 1946 to 1947.
3.
Maurice Thorez joined the French Section of the Workers' International in 1919 and was imprisoned several times for his political activism.
4.
In 1932 Maurice Thorez became the companion of Jeannette Vermeersch; they had three sons before marrying in 1947, and remained married until his death.
5.
Maurice Thorez was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1932 and reelected in 1936.
6.
Meanwhile, Maurice Thorez presided over massive growth of the Communist Party, beginning with the elections of 1936.
7.
When General Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces liberated France in 1944, Maurice Thorez received a pardon.
8.
In November 1944, Maurice Thorez returned to France from his exile in the Soviet Union, and in 1945 his citizenship was restored.
9.
Maurice Thorez was again elected to the Chamber of Deputies and reelected throughout the Fourth Republic.
10.
In 1950, at the height of his popularity among party members, Maurice Thorez suffered a stroke and remained in the Soviet Union for medical care until 1953.
11.
Maurice Thorez published in 1937 an autobiography, Fils du peuple.