Maurice Couve de Murville

For the former Archbishop of Birmingham, see Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville.

Maurice Couve de Murville
Prime Minister of France
In office 10 July 1968 – 20 June 1969
President	Charles de Gaulle Alain Poher (interim)
Preceded by	Georges Pompidou
Succeeded by	Jacques Chaban-Delmas
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 1 June 1958 – 30 May 1968
President	René Coty Charles de Gaulle
Prime Minister	Michel Debre Georges Pompidou
Preceded by	Rene Pleven
Succeeded by	Michel Debre
Personal details
Born	24 January 1907 Reims
Died	24 December 1999(1999-12-24) (aged 92) Paris
Political party	UDR
Occupation	Military Diplomat Civil Servant Politician
Religion	Protestant[1][2]

Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville receiving David Ben Gurion at Quai d'Orsay, June 1960

Maurice Couve de Murville (French pronunciation: [moʁis kuv də myʁvil]; 24 January 1907 – 24 December 1999) was a French diplomat and politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1968 and Prime Minister from 1968 to 1969 under the presidency of General de Gaulle.

He was born Maurice Couve (his father acquired the name de Murville in 1925^[3]) in Reims and died in Paris at the age of 92 from natural causes.

Life

Couve de Murville joined the corps of finance inspectors in 1930, and in 1940 became Director of External Finances of the Vichy régime, in which capacity he sat at the armistice council of Wiesbaden. In March 1943, after the American landing in North Africa, he was one of the few senior officials of Vichy to join the Free French. He left for Algiers, via Spain, where he joined General Henri Giraud. On 7 June 1943, he was named commissioner of finance of the French Committee of National Liberation (CFLN). A few months later, he joined General Charles de Gaulle. In February 1945, he became member of the Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF) with the rank of ambassador attached to the Italian government.

After the war, he occupied several posts as French Ambassador, in Cairo (1950 to 1954), at NATO (1954), in Washington (1955 to 1956) and in Bonn (1956 to 1958). When General de Gaulle returned to power in 1958, he became Foreign Minister, a post which he retained for ten years until the reshuffle which followed the events of May 1968 where he replaced Finance minister Michel Debré, keeping this post only a short time: very soon after the elections, he became a transitional Prime Minister, replacing Georges Pompidou. The following year he was succeeded by Jacques Chaban-Delmas.

Couve de Murville continued his political career first as a UDR deputy, then RPR deputy for Paris until 1986, then as a senator until 1995.

Archbishop Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville, the Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Birmingham (1929–2007), was his cousin.

Published works

• Une politique étrangère, 1958–1969 (1971). ISBN unknown
• Le Monde en face (1989). ISBN 2-259-02222-7

Political career

Governmental functions

Prime minister : 1968–1969

Minister of Foreign Affairs : 1958–1968

Minister of Economy and Finance : May–July 1968

Electoral mandates

Member of the National Assembly of France for Paris : June 1968 (He leaves his seat because he is minister) / 1973–1986

Senator of Paris : 1986–1995

Couve de Murville's Government

The cabinet from 10 July 1968 – 22 June 1969

• Maurice Couve de Murville – Prime Minister
• Michel Debré – Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Pierre Messmer – Minister of Armies
• Raymond Marcellin – Minister of the Interior, Public Health, and Population
• François-Xavier Ortoli – Minister of Economy and Finance
• André Bettencourt – Minister of Industry
• Joseph Fontanet – Minister of Labour, Employment, and Population
• René Capitant – Minister of Justice
• Edgar Faure – Minister of National Education
• Henri Duvillard – Minister of Veterans and War Victims
• André Malraux – Minister of Cultural Affairs
• Robert Boulin – Minister of Agriculture
• Albin Chalandon – Minister of Equipment and Housing
• Jean Chamant – Minister of Transport
• Roger Frey – Minister of Relations with Parliament
• Yves Guéna – Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
• Maurice Schumann – Minister of Social Affairs

On 28 April 1969 – Jean-Marcel Jeanneney succeeded Capitant as interim Minister of Justice.

References

1. ^ Time: Cool Couve's Greatest Test
2. ^ Time: NEW FACES IN DE GAULLE'S CABINET
3. ^ Obituary: Maurice Couve de Murville, The Independent, 27 December 1999

Political offices
Preceded by André Diethelm	Free French Commissioner for Finance 1943	Succeeded by Pierre Mendès-France
Preceded by René Pleven	Minister of Foreign Affairs 1958–1968	Succeeded by Michel Debré
Preceded by Michel Debré	Minister of Economy and Finance 1968	Succeeded by François-Xavier Ortoli
Preceded by Georges Pompidou	Prime Minister of France 1968–1969	Succeeded by Jacques Chaban-Delmas

Persondata
Name	Couve de Murville, Maurice
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	24 January 1907
Place of birth
Date of death	24 December 1999
Place of death