Raymond Poincaré

Born Aug. 20, 1860, in Bar-le-Duc, Meuse; died Oct. 15, 1934, in Paris. French political figure and statesman; a lawyer. Member of the Académie Française from 1909.

Poincaré was a deputy of the French Parliament from 1887 to 1903 and a senator from 1903 to 1913 and from 1920. He was minister of education in 1893 and 1895 and minister of finance in 1894 and 1895 and in 1906. He was prime minister and minister of foreign affairs from 1912 to January 1913. From 1913 to January 1920 he was president of the Republic.

Poincaré represented the interests of the large bourgeoisie. He hindered the passage of social reforms and intensified preparations for war. In 1913 he succeeded in lengthening the period of military service to three years. Poincaré was in favor of strengthening the Entente and the alliance with tsarist Russia, which he visited officially in 1912 and 1914.

During World War I (1914–18), Poincaré was determined to continue the war until victory. After the war, he attempted to establish French hegemony in Europe. In 1920 he was chairman of the reparations commission.

One of the organizers of intervention against Soviet Russia, he defended the interests of the propertied French in Russia and of the holders of Russian loans.

From 1922 to 1924, Poincaré was prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. In an attempt to increase the power of France in Europe, he sent troops to occupy the Ruhr in 1923. Between 1926 and 1929 he was again prime minister and, until November 1928, the minister of finance. He was also one of the leaders of the nationalists.

Poincaré was forced to retire from politics because of ill health.