Louis Barthou

Louis Barthou , 1862-1934, French cabinet minister and man of letters. He held portfolios in numerous cabinets after 1894 and was briefly premier in July-Aug., 1913. His government was responsible for the law that increased military service from two to three years. In 1934 he became foreign minister in the cabinet of Gaston Doumergue. Barthou sought to strengthen the French position in Eastern Europe. He was welcoming King Alexander of Yugoslavia at Marseilles when a Croatian nationalist assassinated (Oct., 1934) both the king and Barthou. A man of culture and learning, Barthou was the author of several biographies, notably one of Victor Hugo (tr. 1919).

Bibliography: See A. Roberts, The Turning Point (1970).

Barthou, Jean Louis (b. 25 Aug. 1862, d. 9 Oct. 1934). Prime Minister of France 1913 An adept moderate right-wing member of the Chamber of Deputies since 1889, he held a large number of ministerial appointments before and after World War I. Hostile to Germany and suspicious of Briand's policies, he had the opportunity to realize some of his demands for a tougher stance towards Germany as president of the Reparations Committee 1922–6. As a result of this vigilant stance, he led French hostility towards the aggressive Nazi regime in Germany in 1933 and 1934. He prepared an anti-Fascist alliance with the Soviet Union, which was concluded by Laval in 1935 after his death. His assassination during a state visit of the Yugoslav king, Alexander I, deprived France of its last major politician ready to stand up to Hitler; thereafter, its politicians such as Blum preferred to follow British policies of appeasement towards Germany.