Albert Decrais
| Pierre Louis Albert Decrais | |
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Decrais in 1898 by Maurice Dulac
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| Minister of the Colonies | |
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In office 22 June 1899 – 3 June 1902 |
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| Preceded by | Florent Guillain |
| Succeeded by | Gaston Doumergue |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
18 December 1838 Bordeaux, Gironde, France |
| Died | 27 February 1915 (aged 76) Mérignac, Gironde, France |
| Nationality | French |
Pierre Louis Albert Decrais (18 December 1838 – 27 February 1915) was a French lawyer, administrator, diplomat and politician who was a deputy from 1897 to 1903, then a senator from 1903 to 1915. He was Minister of the Colonies from 1899 to 1902. He supported the exploitation of the colonies by concessionary companies, and opposed the slave trade. During his term in office a volcanic eruption destroyed the city of Saint-Pierre, Martinique.
Albert Pierre Louis Decrais was born on 18 December 1838 in Bordeaux, Gironde. He was from a bourgeois Protestant family. His parents were Louis Decrais, a merchant, and Marie Désirée Debans. He graduated from the lycée in Bordeaux on 3 August 1857, then went to Paris to study law, where he was a brilliant student. He was secretary of the conference of attorneys in 1862–63, and won a prize for his Éloge de M. de Vatimesnil. He joined the bar of Paris and became a licensed attorney in 1867. He was opposed to the Second French Empire and moved in Republican circles.
During the Franco-Prussian War Decrais was part of the diplomatic mission of Tachard in Brussels. On 2 March 1871 he was named prefect of Indre-et-Loire. He married Marguerite Alice Dethomas, and they had three children. In August 1874 he was decorated with the Legion of Honour. On 11 November 1874 he was made prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, and on 21 March 1876 he was appointed prefect of the Gironde. He resigned on 19 May 1877 in protest against the selection of Albert, 4th duc de Broglie as prime minister. He was reinstated on 20 December 1877, and on 7 February 1878 was promoted to Officer of the Legion of Honor. He was appointed Councilor of State on 16 March 1879.
Decrais was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary in Brussels on 8 May 1880. From 4 February 1882 to 11 November 1882 he was director of political affairs at the Foreign Ministry under the 2nd cabinet of Charles de Freycinet. He was appointed French ambassador to Italy on 11 November 1882, to Austria on 17 July 1886 and was appointed ambassador to Great Britain on 21 July 1893. He retired from the diplomatic service in 1894.
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