Gaston Monnerville
| Gaston Monnerville | |
|---|---|
 |
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| President of the French Senate | |
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In office 4 October 1959 – 2 October 1968 |
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| Preceded by | (President of the Council of Republic) |
| Succeeded by | Alain Poher |
| President of the Council of the Republic | |
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In office 18 March 1947 – 4 October 1959 |
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| Preceded by | Auguste Champetier de Ribes |
| Succeeded by | (became Senate President) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 January 1897 Cayenne |
| Died | 7 November 1991 (aged 94) Paris |
Gaston Monnerville (2 January 1897 – 7 November 1991) was a French politician and lawyer.
The grandson of a slave, he grew up in French Guiana and went to Toulouse to complete his studies. A brilliant student, he became a lawyer in 1918 and worked with César Campinchi, a lawyer who later became an influential politician. He joined the Radical Party and was elected Deputy from French Guiana in 1932. He was Undersecretary of State for the Colonies in the Chautemps government of 1937-1938.
During the first part of World War II, he served in the French Navy, on the battleship Provence. He was not demobilized till 17 July 1940, well after the French defeat by Germany, and therefore did not vote on the grant of dictatorial powers to Marshal Pétain. He protested against the armistice signed by Pétain, and complained about the treatment of French colonial subjects by Petain's Vichy government. In late 1940, he joined Combat, one of the major groups in the resistance. As a lawyer in Marseille, in unoccupied France, he defended persons arrested or persecuted by the Vichy government for their opinions or racial origin. For this he was repeatedly threatened or arrested by the Vichy police.
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Wikipedia