Ramadier, Paul

Ramadier, Paul 

Born Mar. 17, 1888, in La Rochelle; died Oct. 14, 1961, in Rodez, Aveyron. French political and state figure. Member of the Socialist Party from 1904.

Ramadier served as a deputy in parliament from 1928 to 1940, from 1945 to 1951, and from 1956 to 1961. He was minister of labor from 1938 to 1940. During World War II, Ramadier took part in the Resistance movement. He was minister of supplies in 1944 and 1945 and minister of justice in 1946 and 1947. In 1947 he became prime minister of a coalition government that included the Communists. He later served as minister of state and, in 1948 and 1949, as minister of national defense. In May 1947, Ramadier signed a decree that expelled the Communist ministers from the government. He contributed to a turning toward an antidemocratic internal policy and a so-called Atlantic foreign policy, which included France’s participation in NATO. Between 1952 and 1955 he presided over the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization.