André Tardieu

André Tardieu (born Sept. 22, 1876, Paris, France—died Sept. 15, 1945, Menton) was a statesman who was three times premier of France and who attempted to carry on the policies of Georges Clemenceau in the aftermath of World War I.

A member of an upper middle-class family, Tardieu studied at the École Normale Supérieure. After a period in the diplomatic service, he made his reputation as foreign editor of Le Temps. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1914, he served with distinction in the light infantry during World War I until 1916. At the Conference of Paris he had a considerable part in drafting the Treaty of Versailles.

Tardieu was minister for the Liberated Areas (Alsace-Lorraine) in Clemenceau’s government from November 1919 to January 1920. After Clemenceau’s retirement he steadfastly refused to enter any government until 1926. Both in the Chamber of Deputies and in the press, Tardieu waged an uncompromising campaign against the relaxation of the Treaty of Versailles’ punitive provisions against Germany. Then, to Clemenceau’s chagrin, he accepted the Ministry of Public Works and later the Ministry of the Interior under Raymond Poincaré. As the leader of the right-centre in the Chamber, he was premier from Nov. 2, 1929, to Feb. 17, 1930, and again from March 2 to Dec. 5, 1930, advocating a policy of large national expenditure. He was minister of agriculture (1931–32) and of war (1932) in Pierre Laval’s two Cabinets before becoming premier for the third time on Feb. 20, 1932. Defeated in the general elections, he resigned on May 10, 1932. Finally, disgusted with the condition of public affairs, he retired from active politics in 1936.

Tardieu wrote many books, including La France et les alliances (1908); La Paix (1921; The Truth About the Treaty); Devant l’obstacle (1927; France and America); and La Révolution à refaire, 2 vol. (1936–37), a denunciation of the French parliamentary system.