Camille Chautemps

Chautemps, Camille 

Born Feb. 1,1885, in Paris; died July 1, 1963, in Washington, D.C. French political and state figure. A leader of the Radical Socialist Party.

Between 1924 and 1940, Chautemps frequently held ministerial posts, including that of minister of internal affairs in 1924–25, 1925–26, 1930, and 1932–34. He served as premier four times: in 1930, 1933–34, 1937–38, and 1938. He supported the creation of the Popular Front; however, as head of the Popular Front government he prevented the implementation of the front’s program and contributed to the organization’s collapse.

As vice-premier from April 1938 to July 1940, Chautemps favored collaboration with the fascist aggressors. In November 1940, Pétain sent him on a diplomatic mission to the USA, where he chose to remain and retire from political activity. Because of his work for the Pétain government, Chautemps was sentenced in absentia in 1947 to five years’ imprisonment; in addition, his property was confiscated, and he was stripped of his rights as a citizen.