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Pierre Laval ( June 28, 1883 - October 15, 1945) was a French politician and thrice Prime Minister of France, the final time being under the Vichy government.
He was born in Châteldon and after gaining a degree, he worked as a lawyer, in Paris from 1907. A socialist, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a member of SFIO in 1903. He did not serve in World War IWorld War I (also known as the First World War , the Great War the War of the Nations and the "War to End All Wars") was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of but the period saw a change to his politics as he moved towards the rightIn politics, right-wing the political right or simply the right are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. It is usually, but not always, associated with conservatism.. He lost the first post-war election. He became mayorA mayor ( Latin major "better") is the chief executive official of a city, town, or village. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs as to the powers and responsibilities of a mayor, as well as the means of becoming mayor. The French of AubervilliersMetro area ( Region) Paris ( Ile-de-France) Departement Seine-saint-Denis Arrondissement Saint-Denis Cantonschief towns of 2 cantons(1 commune, 63,136 habitants) HabitantsAlbertivilliarians Population ( 1999)63,524 habitants Postal code93300 INSEE code930 in 1924Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 See also 1924 in aviation 1924 in film 1924 in literature 1924 in mu and left the socialist party; he was elected to the French SenateThe current French Senate (in French : Senat is the upper house of the Parliament of France. A Senat was also the upper house during the French Consulate of 1799- 1804. Composition and election The French Senate presently has 321 senators who are elected in 1927Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 See also 1927 in aviation 1927 in film 1927 in literature 1927 in mu.
Laval was a prominent figure in the 1930sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Years: 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 Events and trends Technology Jet engine invented Link Trainer invented Sc governments. He was frequently in cabinet and was Prime Minister from January 27, 1931 to February 6, 1932 (succeeding André Tardieu) and again from June 7, 1935. During his second stint as Prime Minister in October 1935, together with the British foreign minister, Samuel Hoare, he proposed a solution to the Abyssinia crisis. Leaked to the media in December, the realpolitik Hoare-Laval Pact was widely denounced and Laval was forced to resign on January 22, 1936.
Pierre Laval was TIME magazine's 1931 Man of the Year.
The victory of the Front Populaire in 1936 meant that Laval returned to business. Following the German occupation, his media outlets were prominent in forcing out the existing government and then supporting the new government of Philippe Pétain. On July 12, 1940, Laval became vice-premier.
Laval was enthusiastically pro- Nazi; his demands for a Franco-German military alliance led to him being sacked from the government and arrested in December 13, 1940. The German ambassador in France, Otto Abetz, had him freed and moved to Paris. He was injured in an assassination attempt on August 27, 1941 at a Legion des Volontaires Francais review but recovered and was recalled into the Vichy government on April 18, 1942. This time he became Prime Minister and succeeded Admiral François Darlan as the leading figure in the regime after Pétain himself. Laval was largely blamed for the increase in anti- Jewish activities and the decision to send French workers to Germany through la releve and the later the Service du Travail Obligatoire. The creation of the Vichy Milice, the wartime secret police, in January, 1943 has also been credited to Laval.
Following the Allied invasion of France, the government moved from Vichy to Belfort and then to Germany and Sigmaringen in August, 1944. In May 1945 Laval fled. He was held in Austria and given over to U.S. forces. On July 30, 1945 he was handed over to the new French government. Accused of collaboration (i.e. treason) and violating state security, he was tried and sentenced to death. After a failed attempt at suicide, he was executed by firing squad at Fresnes prison, near Paris.