Raoul Péret

Raoul Adolphe Péret (29 November 1870 – 22 July 1942) was a French lawyer and politician.

Raoul Péret was born in Châtellerault (Vienne), son of a magistrate. He followed his father into the law, becoming an advocate at the Court of Cassation in Paris. In 1893 he served as an aide to Justice Minister Eugène Guérin. He became a Doctor of Laws in 1895 and served as of Auxerre.

He was involved in local politics from 1896, and in 1902 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, representing Vienne. He became a leading member of Chamber's Justice committee, and was reelected in 1907 and 1910. He first served in government in Gaston Doumergue's first administration (1913–1914) as secretary of state to Interior Minister René Renoult. In the reshuffle following the resignation of Joseph Caillaux, Péret became Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts and Telegraphs from 17 March 1914 to 9 June 1914.

On the outbreak of the First World War, Péret was recalled to the French army. He served in administrative posts, but remained active in the Chamber of Deputies. In 1917 he served as Justice Minister in Paul Painlevé's short-lived first government. On its fall, he returned to the Chamber where he took over the presidency of the important budget committee. He had earlier written a book on government financial reform, Comment la France peut-elle devenir une grande puissance économique (1916).

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