Jules Brévié
| Joseph-Jules Brévié | |
|---|---|
Jules Brévié at the 7th North African Conference in Tunis, 1930
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| Commandant, then Lieutenant Governor of Niger | |
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In office 1921 – 9 October 1929 |
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| Preceded by | Lucien Émile Rueff |
| Succeeded by | Léonce Jore (acting) |
| Governor General of French West Africa | |
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In office 15 October 1930 – 27 September 1936 |
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| Preceded by | Jules Carde |
| Succeeded by | Jules Marcel de Coppet |
| Governor General of French Indochina | |
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In office September 1936 – 23 August 1939 |
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| Preceded by | Eugène Jean Louis René Robin |
| Succeeded by | Georges Catroux |
| Minister of Overseas France and the Colonies | |
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In office 18 April 1942 – 26 March 1943 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Platon |
| Succeeded by | Henri Bléhaut |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
12 March 1880 Bagnères-de-Luchon, Haute-Garonne, France |
| Died | 28 July 1964 (aged 84) Pierrefitte, Cantal, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Colonial administrator |
Joseph-Jules Brévié (12 March 1880 – 28 July 1964) was a French colonial administrator who became governor general of French West Africa from 1930 to 1936, and then governor general of French Indochina from 1936 to 1939. He promoted liberal and humanistic policies, and thought it important to have deep understanding of the local people and respect for their civilization. He saw the role of the administration as being the economic and human development of the people. During World War II (1939–45) he was Minister of Overseas France and the Colonies from April 1942 to March 1943. As a result of his participation in the Vichy government he was deprived of his rank and pension after the war.
Joseph-Jules Brévié was born on 12 March 1880 in Bagnères-de-Luchon, Haute-Garonne. He graduated from the École coloniale (Colonial School) and was appointed a trainee administrator in 1902. He served in the Finance department of the government general at Dakar from January to April 1903. Brévié was involved in the occupation and organization of the colony of Upper Senegal and Niger. He served in Bamako, Niafunké and Bougouni in 1903–06, 1907–09 and 1910–12. In 1904 Brévié discovered a site near Tondidarou in what is now Mali that contained a remarkable group of phalliform stone monuments.
Brévié served in Guinea from 1913 to 1919. In November 1915 there was a revolt in the Black Volta bend against the French. Brévié arrived at the end of the month to review the situation. He was present at the battle of Yankasso on 23 December 1915 in which the French were checked. After a series of engagements, most of Burkina Faso was at peace by the end of July 1916.
In 1915 Brévié was visiting the village of Massantola in the Beledougou region of Mali when he heard a woman singing a lamentation she had composed in the Bamana language about her son, who had been killed in a rebellion against the French. In 1918 Brévié published the original and a translation with notes and commentary in Dakar as A propos d'une chanson bambara (About a Bambara Song). He explained that the rebellion had been led by two local chiefs after the imposition of direct rule by the French, which had decreased their power. After their defeat they had retreated to a fort. The French lost many men before forcing their way in. One chief had killed himself and his followers while the other had escaped in the hope of fighting again. Brévié explained that the local people saw the affairs as a tragedy while the French saw it as a victory.
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