René Besnard
| René Henry Besnard | |
|---|---|
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| Minister of the Colonies | |
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In office 12 January 1913 – 18 January 1913 |
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| Preceded by | Albert François Lebrun |
| Succeeded by | Jean Morel |
| Minister of Labor and Social Welfare | |
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In office 21 January 1913 – 18 March 1913 |
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| Preceded by | Léon Bourgeois |
| Succeeded by | Henry Chéron |
| Minister of the Colonies | |
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In office 12 September 1917 – 16 November 1917 |
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| Preceded by | André Maginot |
| Succeeded by | Henry Simon |
| Minister of War | |
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In office 21 February 1930 – 25 February 1930 |
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| Preceded by | André Maginot |
| Succeeded by | André Maginot |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
12 April 1879 Artannes-sur-Indre, Indre-et-Loire, France |
| Died | 12 March 1952 (aged 72) Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
René Henry Besnard (12 April 1879 – 12 March 1952) was a French politician who was a deputy for Indre-et-Loire from 1906 to 1919 and senator from 1920 to 1941. He was briefly Minister of the Colonies and then Minister of Labor and Social Welfare in 1913. He was twice Undersecretary of State for War during World War I (1914–18), and did much to reform aircraft production. He was briefly Minister of Colonies in 1917. From 1924 to 1928 Besnard was Ambassador of France to Rome. For a few days in 1930 he was Minister of War.
René Henry Besnard was born in Artannes-sur-Indre, Indre-et-Loire, on 12 April 1879. His family was from Touraine. He qualified as a doctor of Law in 1903 with the thesis on search and seizure in criminal cases, and became a lawyer. He was elected deputy for the 1st district of Tours in the national elections of 6/20 May 1906 representing a group of Republicans, Radicals and anti-clerical Radical Socialists. In 1909 he was appointed secretary of the chamber of deputies. He was active in the chamber, and introduced several bills.
Besnard was reelected in the second round in the elections of April–May 1910. He became a member of the committees on Labor, Budget and Universal Suffrage. On 27 June 1911 he was appointed Undersecretary of State for Finance under Louis-Lucien Klotz, the Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Joseph Caillaux. He retained this position in the subsequent cabinet of Raymond Poincaré formed on 14 January 1912. He was appointed Colonial Secretary on 12 January 1913. On 21 January 1913 he was appointed Minister of Labor and Social Welfare by Briand, holding office until 18 March 1913 when the government of Louis Barthou took office. Besnard was re-elected in the general elections of April–May 1914. He became a member of the committees on Appropriations, Commerce and Industry, Army and Merchant Marine.
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