Action Committee for a United States of Europe
| Jean Monnet | |
|---|---|
 |
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| President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community | |
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In office 10 August 1952 – 3 June 1955 |
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| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | René Mayer |
| Deputy Secretary-General of the League of Nations | |
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In office 1919–1923 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet 9 November 1888 Cognac, Charente |
| Died | 16 March 1979 (aged 90) Houjarray, Bazoches-sur-Guyonne |
| Resting place |
Panthéon, Paris, France 48°50′46″N 2°20′45″E / 48.84611°N 2.34583°ECoordinates: 48°50′46″N 2°20′45″E / 48.84611°N 2.34583°E |
| Nationality | French |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Silvia de Bondini (m. 1934–79); his death |
| Profession | Politician, economist, diplomat, statist |
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (French: [ʒɑ̃ mɔnɛ]; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French political economist and diplomat. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered as one of the founding fathers of the European Union. Jean Monnet has been called “The Father of Europe” by those who see his innovative and pioneering efforts in the 1950s as the key to establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, the predecessor of today’s European Union. Never elected to public office, Monnet worked behind the scenes of American and European governments as a well-connected pragmatic internationalist. He was named patron of the 1980–1981 academic year at the College of Europe, in honour of his accomplishments.
Monnet was born in Cognac, a commune in the department of Charente in France, into a family of cognac merchants. At the age of sixteen, he abandoned his university entrance examinations part way through and moved to the United Kingdom, where he spent several years in London with Mr. Chaplin, an agent of his father's company. Subsequently, he traveled widely – to Scandinavia, Russia, Egypt, Canada, and the United States – for the family business.
Monnet firmly believed that the only path to an Allied victory lay in combining the war efforts of Britain and France, and he reflected on a concept that would coordinate war resources. In 1914, young Monnet was allowed to meet French Premier René Viviani on this issue and he managed to convince the French government to agree with him, in principle. However, during the first two years of the war, Monnet did not have much success pressing for a better organization of the allied economic cooperation. It was not until two years later that stronger combines like the Wheat Executive (end of 1916) and the Allied Maritime Transport Council (end of 1917) were set into motion, adding to the overall war effort.
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