Christian Pineau

Christian Pineau (French pronunciation: ​[kʁistjɑ̃ pino]; 14 October 1904, in Chaumont-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne, France – 5 April 1995, in Paris) was a noted French Resistance fighter, who later served an important term as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the late 1950s.

Pineau was born in 1904 in Chaumont-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne, France. His stepfather was the writer Jean Giraudoux, who was married to Pineau's mother. Later, Christian Pineau would say that it was Giraudoux who gave him his love of writing.

A World War II French Resistance leader and a close ally of Charles de Gaulle, Pineau was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and survived Buchenwald concentration camp.

Pineau represented the Sarthe department as a Socialist in the French National Assembly from 1946 to 1958. After the war, he served as a minister in French governments, 1945–1958. He was minister of supply in Charles de Gaulle's government (1945) and minister of public works (1947–1950) in various governments.

He was finance minister for a short time in 1948. Pineau was designated as prime minister of France by President René Coty after the February 1955 resignation of Pierre Mendès-France, but the National Assembly refused to ratify his cabinet by 312 votes against 268; his prime ministership lasted for two days between 17 and 19 February 1955.

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