édouard Daladier

The French statesman édouard Daladier (1884-1970) represented his country at the Munich Conference in September 1938.

The son of a baker, édouard Daladier was born on June 18, 1884, at Carpentras. An ardent Dreyfusard schoolteacher and member of the Radical Socialist party, he was elected to Parliament in 1919. He attained ministerial rank under his former teacher édouard Herriot in 1924 and served in most cabinets until 1940.

During his first premiership, from January to October 1933, Daladier signed the Four-Power Peace Pact with Great Britain, Germany, and Italy. Widely considered a "strong man," he was recalled to power in January 1934 to deal with disorders provoked by right-wing extremists. Un-deterred, they rioted in Paris on Feb. 6, 1934, and forced Daladier to resign after only 11 days in office. A rival of Herriot and leader of the progressive Radicals, Daladier led his party into Léon Blum's left-wing Popular Front coalition, which won the parliamentary elections of May 1936. He then became minister of national defense.

As international tension mounted following Hitler's annexation of Austria, France once more turned to a "strong man," and Daladier resumed the premiership in April 1938. With France the prisoner of British foreign policy, Daladier was forced to support the appeasement policy of Neville Chamberlain. Consequently, he was compelled to acquiesce in the dismembering of Czechoslovakia at Munich in 1938. This act destroyed the security system of France in eastern Europe and encouraged Adolf Hitler in his policy of aggression and violence.

Daladier declared war on Germany after Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939. He continued in office until March 20, 1940, when he yielded to another "strong man," Paul Reynaud. He remained in the government, however, as minister of war and then as foreign minister until June 16, 1940. Arrested in September by Vichy authorities, he was sent to Riom for trial in 1942. Daladier defended himself with such courage and vigor that the proceedings were suspended. In 1943 he was deported to Germany, where he remained until his liberation in April 1945.

After the war Daladier sought to resume his political career but with little success. Although returned to Parliament, he was too much identified with the events which led to the fall of France to regain his prewar position of leadership. Even his tenure as president of the Radical party after the death of Herriot in 1957 was brief and inglorious. After his electoral defeat in the parliamentary elections of November 1958, he retired. Daladier died in Paris on Oct. 10, 1970.

Further Reading

As with most French political leaders, Daladier has no biographer. His career before 1940, however, is intelligently discussed in Alexander Werth, The Twilight of France, 1933-1940 (1942); D. W. Brogan, The Development of Modern France, 1870-1939 (1947; rev. ed. 1966); and Peter J. Larmour, The French Radical Party in the 1930's (1964).

Additional Sources

Daladier, Edouard, Prison journal, 1940-1945, Boulder: West-view Press, 1995. □

Daladier, Édouard (b. 18 June 1884, d. 10 Oct. 1970). Prime Minister of France 1933, 1934, 1938–40 A Radical in the Chamber of Deputies 1919–40 and the National Assembly 1946–58, he was Minister of War and Defence 1932–4 and 1936–40. Having already participated in fifteen Cabinets, he was immensely popular when he became Prime Minister once again in 1938. Given the renewed threat of a European war, he was able to command a relatively solid parliamentary majority which enabled him to introduce a public works programme and, against bitter trade-union opposition, an increased working week. He steered the Radical Party towards the right, away from the Popular Front. He pursued the policy of appeasement with Germany, and signed the Munich Agreement in 1938. He had to resign after ineffective and badly coordinated French efforts to help the Finns in the Winter War. However, he stayed on as Minister of War until the defeat, when he was imprisoned by the Vichy government. He was tried unsuccessfully at Riom, and spent the last two years of the war in a German prison. After the war, he became again a leading influence within his party, but since its support had declined considerably, he was unable to join another ministry.

Daladier, Edouard (1884–1970),French politician who became a radical socialist deputy for his native Vaucluse after the First World War. In 1933 he became prime minister for the first time and was serving in that position for the third time when, with Chamberlain, he signed the Munich agreement in September 1938. His government's failure to support the Finns in the Finnish–Soviet war led to his resignation in March 1940, but he then served as minister of war, and later as minister for foreign affairs, when Reynaud succeeded him. In August 1940 he was arrested by the Vichy French regime and interned in a fortress in the Pyrenees. At the Riom trial in February 1942 he was arraigned with others on charges of ‘causing the defeat of France’. The trial was discontinued but he was still kept in prison—first in Vichy France and, from April 1943, in a concentration camp. He was one of the few Third Republic politicians who was able to pursue a post-war career in politics but never again held any post of prominence. See also France, 3(a).

Édouard Daladier , 1884–1970, French politician, a Radical Socialist. After World War I he was a member of successive French cabinets. He was premier from Jan. to Oct., 1933, and again from Jan. to Feb., 1934, when the Stavisky Affair , which did not implicate him personally, caused serious riots in Paris and forced his resignation. In Apr., 1938, Daladier obtained the premiership and was also minister of national defense. He did his best to nullify the social and economic legislation enacted by the four previous cabinets and signed (Sept., 1938) the Munich Pact . From 1939 he was also minister of war and foreign affairs. He resigned as premier in Mar., 1940, because his failure to aid Finland's defense against Russia was unpopular, but he remained in the cabinet until the French collapse (June) in World War II. Arrested by the Vichy government in 1940, he was a defendant at the war-guilt trial at Riom (1942), was interned by the Germans, and was liberated in 1945. Daladier was elected to the national assembly in 1946. He sat in the assembly until 1958.

Daladier, Édouard (1884–1970) French statesman. With Neville CHAMBERLAIN he yielded to Hitler's demands to annex the SUDETENLAND of Czechoslovakia in the MUNICH PACT (1938). He had served as a Radical Socialist in various ministries, was briefly Premier in 1933 and 1934 and again in 1938–40. Arrested by the VICHY government in 1940, he was tried at Riom, together with other democratic leaders, accused of responsibility for France's military disasters. Although acquitted, he remained imprisoned in France and Germany. He was elected to the national assembly (1945–58) during the Fourth Republic.

Daladier, Édouard (1884–1970) French statesman, prime minister (1933, 1934, 1938–40). In 1934, Daladier was forced to resign after failing to quell riots. As prime minister and minister of defence, he signed the Munich Agreement (1938). Daladier again resigned after his failure to help Finland repel the Russian advance. In 1940 he was arrested by the new Vichy Government, and was deported to Germany in 1942. He was released at the end of World War II, and became a member of the National Assembly (1946–58).