Armand Nicolas

Born Jan. 28, 1925, in Nice, France. Figure in the labor movement in Martinique.

The son of a teacher, Nicolas was educated in Martinique. He attended the Sorbonne in Paris from 1945 to 1951, studying philology and history. In 1947 he joined the French Communist Party (FCP). He was the founder and chairman of a student organization in Martinique. While in France, he was active in the political movement among students from colonial countries.

In 1951, Nicolas was appointed a teacher in a lycée in Fort-de-France, Martinique. In 1953 he became editor in chief of the Communist newspaper Justice and a member of the bureau of the Martinique Federation of the FCP. In 1957, Nicolas was chosen a member of the Politburo and a secretary of the Central Committee of the Martinique Communist Party (MCP). In 1960, acting as a spokesman for the MCP, he advocated autonomy for Martinique. For this he was persecuted by the French authorities and in 1961 was dismissed from his teaching post. In 1963, Nicolas was elected general secretary of the MCP. He is the author of works on the history of Martinique, including such topics as the 1848 revolution against slavery.