Editing Pierre Messmer

{{short description|83rd Prime Minister of France}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Pierre Messmer
|image=Pierre Messmer01 (cropped 2).JPG
|order         = [[Prime Minister of France]]
|term_start    =5 July 1972
|term_end      =27 May 1974
|president     =[[Georges Pompidou]]<br>[[Alain Poher]] {{Small|(Acting)}}
|predecessor   =[[Jacques Chaban-Delmas]]
|successor     =[[Jacques Chirac]]
|office2 = [[Minister of the Armed Forces (France)|Minister of the Armed Forces]]
|term_start2 = 5 February 1960
|term_end2 = 22 June 1969
|primeminister2 = [[Michel Debré]] <br> [[Georges Pompidou]] <br> [[Maurice Couve de Murville]]
|predecessor2 = [[Pierre Guillaumat]]
|successor2 = Michel Debré 
|birth_name=Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer
|birth_date    = {{birth date|1916|03|20|df=y}}
|birth_place   =[[Vincennes]], [[Seine (department)|Seine]] (now [[Val-de-Marne]]), France
|death_date    ={{death date and age|df=yes|2007|8|29|1916|3|20}}
|death_place   =[[Paris]], France
|party         =[[Union of Democrats for the Republic|UDR]]
|occupation    =Civil servant
|caption=Messmer in 1988}}
{{Conservatism in France|Politicians}}

'''Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer''' ({{IPA|fr|pjɛʁ mɛsmɛʁ|lang}}; 20 March 1916{{spaced ndash}}29 August 2007) was a French [[Gaullism|Gaullist]] politician. He served as [[Minister of Defence (France)|Minister of Armies]] under [[Charles de Gaulle]] from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since [[Étienne François, duc de Choiseul]] under [[Louis XV of France|Louis XV]] – and then as [[French Prime Minister|Prime Minister]] under [[Georges Pompidou]] from 1972 to 1974. A member of the [[French Foreign Legion]], he was considered one of the historical Gaullists, and died aged 91 in the [[military hospital]] of the [[Val-de-Grâce]] in August 2007. He was elected a member of the ''[[Académie française]]'' in 1999; his seat was taken over by [[Simone Veil]].<ref name=Monde>Thomas Ferenczi, [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-949062,0.html?xtor=RSS-3208 Le gaulliste Pierre Messmer est mort] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070908185613/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-949062,0.html?xtor=RSS-3208 |date=8 September 2007 }}, ''[[Le Monde]]'', 29 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

== Early career ==

Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer was born in [[Vincennes]] in 1916. He graduated in 1936 in the language school [[ENLOV]] and the following year at the ''[[Ecole nationale de la France d'outre-mer]]'' (National School of Oversea France).<ref name=Monde /> 

He then became a senior civil servant in the colonial administration and became a [[Doctor of Laws]] in 1939. In the outbreak of World War II, he was [[sous-lieutenant]] of the 12th regiment of [[Senegalese tirailleurs]], and refused France's capitulation after the [[Battle of France|defeat]].<ref name=Monde /> He then hijacked in [[Marseille]] an Italian cargo ship (the ''Capo Olmo''), along with his friend [[:fr: Jean Simon| Jean Simon]] (a future French General), and sailed first to Gibraltar, then London and engaged himself in the [[Free French Forces]] as a member of the [[13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion|13th Demi-Brigade]] of the [[French Foreign Legion]].<ref name=Monde /><ref name=Fig /> 

Messmer then participated to the [[East African Campaign (World War II)|campaign in Eritrea]], [[Syria-Lebanon campaign|in Syria]], [[Western Desert Campaign|in Libya]], participating to the [[Battle of Bir Hakeim]], and in the [[Tunisia campaign]].<ref name=Monde /> He also fought at the [[Second Battle of El Alamein|Battle of El Alamein]] in Egypt.<ref name=RFI>[http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/092/article_55853.asp Messmer, légionnaire et baron gaulliste] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070902072154/http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/092/article_55853.asp |date=2 September 2007 }}, ''[[Radio France International]]'', 30 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> He joined in London [[Marie-Pierre Kœnig|General Koenig]]'s military staff and participated in [[Operation Overlord|the landings in Normandy in August 1944]] and the [[Liberation of Paris]].<ref name=Monde />

Named ''[[Compagnon de la Libération]]'' in 1941,<ref name=Fig /> he received the ''[[Croix de guerre 1939–1945|Croix de guerre]]'' (War Cross) with six citations after the Liberation, as well as the [[medal of the Resistance]].<ref name=Monde />

== After World War II ==
After World War II, he returned to the colonies and was a [[prisoner of war]] of the [[Vietminh]], during two months in 1945, after the outbreak of the [[First Indochina War]].<ref name=Monde /> He was named the following year general secretary of the interministerial committee for [[French Indochina|Indochina]] and then head of staff of the high commissary of the Republic.<ref name=Monde />

=== Colonial administrator in Africa ===
Messmer began his high-level African service as governor of [[Mauritania]] from 1952 to 1954, and then served as governor of [[Ivory Coast]] from 1954 to 1956, when he briefly returned to Paris in the staff of [[Gaston Defferre]], Minister of Overseas Territories who enacted the Defferre Act granting to colonial territories internal autonomy, a first step towards independence.

That same year, Messmer was nominated as governor general of [[Cameroun]], where a civil war had started the preceding year following the outlawing of the independentist [[Union of the Peoples of Cameroon]] (UPC) in July 1955. He initiated a [[decolonization]] process and imported the [[counter-revolutionary warfare]] methods theorized in Indochina and implemented during the [[Algerian War]] (1954–62).<ref name=R89>David Servenay, [http://rue89.com/2007/08/30/pierre-messmer-un-soldat-que-le-cameroun-na-pas-oublie Pierre Messmer, un soldat que le Cameroun n'a pas oublié] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070903154547/http://www.rue89.com/2007/08/30/pierre-messmer-un-soldat-que-le-cameroun-na-pas-oublie |date=3 September 2007 }}, ''[[Rue 89]]'', 30 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
Visiting de Gaulle in Paris, he was implicitly granted permission for his change of policies in Cameroon, which exchanged repression for negotiations with the UPC.<ref name=R89 /> 

A "Pacification Zone" – the ZOPAC (''Zone de pacification du Cameroon'') was created on 9 December 1957, englobing 7,000 square km controlled by seven infantry regiments.<ref name=R89 /> Furthermore, a civilian-military intelligence apparatus was created, combining colonial and local staff, assisted by a civilian militia. [[Mao Zedong]]'s [[people's war]] was reversed in an attempt to separate the civilian population from the guerrilla. In that aim, the local population was rounded up in guarded villages located on the main roads that were controlled by the French Army.<ref name=R89 />

Messmer served as high commissioner of [[French Equatorial Africa]] from January 1958 to July 1958, and as high commissioner of [[French West Africa]] from 1958 to 1959.{{cn|date=November 2022}}

=== Minister of Armies (1959–1969) ===
From 1959 to 1969, under [[Charles de Gaulle]]'s presidency and in the turmoil of the [[Algerian War]], he was [[Minister of Armies (France)|Minister of Armies]]. He was confronted with the 1961 [[Generals' Putsch]], reorganised the [[French Army]] and adapted it to the [[France and nuclear weapons|nuclear era]].<ref name=Monde />

In 1960, Messmer visited Lisbon and expressed lament for the United Nations resolutions against colonialism and approved of the ''[[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]]'' regime's hardline stance against decolonisation on the grounds that Portugal represented the last vestige of white Western civilisation on the African continent.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Byrnes |first1=Melissa K. |date=26 May 2019 |title=Diplomacy at the end of empire: evolving French perspectives on Portuguese colonialism in the 1950s and 1960s |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14682745.2019.1597857 |journal=[[Cold War History (journal)|Cold War History]] |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=477–491 |doi=10.1080/14682745.2019.1597857 |s2cid=191733021 |access-date=15 March 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Messmer gave permission for former [[Algerian War]] veterans to fight in [[Katanga Crisis|Katanga]] against the newly independent [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]] and [[United Nations]] peacekeeping forces. He confided to [[Roger Trinquier]] that it was de Gaulle's ambition to replace the Belgians and control a reunited Congo from [[Élisabethville]].<ref>{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=d3MTDQAAQBAJ&pg=PP117|title = Katanga 1960–63: Mercenaries, Spies and the African Nation that Waged War on the World|isbn = 978-0-7509-6580-4|last1 = Othen|first1 = Christopher|date = 7 September 2015| publisher=The History Press |access-date = 24 April 2018|archive-date = 14 December 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211214235100/https://books.google.com/books?id=d3MTDQAAQBAJ&pg=PP117|url-status = live}}</ref>

Along with the Minister of Research, [[Gaston Palewski]], Messmer was present at the [[Agathe (atomic test)|Béryl nuclear test]] in Algeria, on 1 May 1962 during which an accident occurred. Officials, soldiers, and Algerian workers escaped as they could, often without wearing any protection. Palewski died in 1984 of [[leukemia]], which he always has attributed to the [[Beryl incident]], and Messmer always remained close-mouthed on the affair.<ref name="Hum">[http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/2007-02-21/2007-02-21-846342 La bombe atomique en héritage], ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 21 February 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223331/http://www.hns-info.net/article.php3?id_article=11912 Pierre Messmer : désinformation et opacité sur le nucléaire civil et militaire]}}, ''[[Sortir du nucléaire (France)|Sortir du nucléaire]]'', ''[[Hacktivist News Service|HNS]]'', 2 September 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
<!-- probably there should be a section heading here, as the following doesn't really fit under the above paragraph -->

De Gaulle said that along with [[Maurice Couve de Murville]], Messmer was "one of his two arms.<ref name=RFI /> " In [[May 68]], he advised de Gaulle against the use of the military.<ref name=Monde />{{clarify|date=July 2016}}

Messmer became a personality of the [[Gaullist Party]] and was [[1968 French legislative election|elected deputy in 1968]], representing [[Moselle (department)|Moselle]] ''département''. A member of the conservative wing of the Gaullist movement, he criticised the "New Society" plan of Prime Minister [[Jacques Chaban-Delmas]] and thus won the trust of [[Georges Pompidou]], [[1969 French presidential election|elected President in 1969]].<ref name=RFI /> He quit the government after de Gaulle's resignation and founded the association ''Présence du gaullisme'' (Presence of Gaullism).<ref name=Monde />

== From the 1970s to the 2000s ==
<!--  Commented out because image was deleted: [[File:PMChirac.jpg|thumb|On 29 May 1974 [[Jacques Chirac]] (left) replaced Pierre Messmer (right) as prime minister on the steps of the [[Hôtel Matignon]].]] -->
He occupied cabinet positions again in the 1970s, serving first as [[Minister of state]] charged of [[Minister of Overseas Territories (France)|the Overseas Territories]] in 1971,<ref name=1972speech>[http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/acteurs/premier_ministre/histoire_chefs_gouvernement_28/pierre_messmer_217/discours_politique_generale_pierre_50335.html Discours de politique générale] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927233549/http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/acteurs/premier_ministre/histoire_chefs_gouvernement_28/pierre_messmer_217/discours_politique_generale_pierre_50335.html |date=27 September 2007 }} (General Politics Speech) of Messmer during his 1972 investiture, French government's website {{in lang|fr}}</ref> then as Prime Minister from July 1972 to May 1974.

=== Messmer's cabinet (July 1972 – May 1974) ===

He succeeded in this function to [[Jacques Chaban-Delmas]], who had adopted a [[parliamentarism|parliamentary reading]] of the [[Constitution (France)|Constitution]], which Messmer opposed in his investiture speech.<ref name=1972speech /> Messmer had been chosen by Pompidou as a guarant of his fidelity to de Gaulle, and his cabinet included personalities close to Pompidou, such as [[Jacques Chirac]], named Minister of Agriculture.<ref name=Politique>[http://www.politique.net/annees-pompidou/gouvernement-messmer.htm Le gouvernement de Pierre Messmer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070919224736/http://www.politique.net/annees-pompidou/gouvernement-messmer.htm |date=19 September 2007 }}, politique.net, {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

Due to President [[Georges Pompidou]]'s illness, he dealt with the everyday administration of the country and adopted a conservative stance opposed to Chaban-Delmas' previous policies. Henceforth, he stopped the liberalization of the [[ORTF]] media governmental organization, naming as its CEO [[Arthur Conte]], a personal friend of Pompidou.<ref name=Politique />

Under his government, the [[Union des Démocrates pour la République]] (UDR) presidential majority negotiated with [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]]'s [[Independent Republicans]] an electoral alliance, which enabled it to win the [[1973 French legislative election|1973 elections]] despite the [[French Left|left-wing union]] realized with the 1972 [[Programme commun|Common Program]].<ref name=Politique /> Messmer's second cabinet excluded several Gaullists, among whom [[Michel Debré]], while he named several Independent Republicans members, such as [[Michel Poniatowski]], close to Giscard, himself named [[Minister of Economy (France)|Minister of Economy and Finances]].<ref name=Politique /> A [[Minister of Information (France)|Ministry of Information]] was also re-created and put under the authority of an ultra-conservative, [[Philippe Malaud]].<ref name=Politique /> In June 1974, he initiated the [[Nuclear power in France|construction of 13 nuclear plants]] in order to confront the "''[[1973 oil crisis|choc pétrolier]]''" (oil crisis).<ref name=Monde /><ref>[http://www.premierministre.gouv.fr/acteurs/premier_ministre/histoire_chefs_gouvernement_28/pierre_messmer_217/interview_televisee_pierre_messmer_50630.html Interview of Pierre Messmer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930055734/http://www.premierministre.gouv.fr/acteurs/premier_ministre/histoire_chefs_gouvernement_28/pierre_messmer_217/interview_televisee_pierre_messmer_50630.html |date=30 September 2007 }} on 3 June 1974 (film), on the French government's website {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

In 1974, when Pompidou died, those close to Messmer encouraged him to run for president. He accepted at the condition of Chaban-Delmas, [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] and [[Edgar Faure]]'s withdrawals. Faure accepted, as well as Giscard on the condition that Chaban-Delmas also withdrew himself. However, Chaban-Delmas, despite the ''[[Canard enchaîné]]''{{'}}s campaign against him, maintained himself, leading Messmer to withdraw his candidacy. Finally, [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]], a conservative rival of the Gaullists, was [[1974 French presidential election|elected]]. He served as prime minister for another few weeks after Pompidou's death, ending his term after the presidential elections. [[Jacques Chirac]] replaced him on 29 May 1974.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.premierministre.gouv.fr/acteurs/premier_ministre/histoire_chefs_gouvernement_28/pierre_messmer_217/passation_pouvoir_entre_pierre_50629.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930055725/http://www.premierministre.gouv.fr/acteurs/premier_ministre/histoire_chefs_gouvernement_28/pierre_messmer_217/passation_pouvoir_entre_pierre_50629.html|url-status=dead|title=Video of the passing of powers between Messmer and Chirac|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> After the election of Giscard, he never held again ministerial offices, and became one of the historical voices of Gaullism.<ref name=RFI />

=== Later career and death ===
Messmer remained a Member of Parliament for the Moselle department until 1988, and served as President of the [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine]] regional assembly from 1968 to 1992. He was mayor of the town of [[Sarrebourg]] from 1971 to 1989. Messmer was also president of the [[Rally for the Republic]] (RPR) parliamentary group during the first [[cohabitation (government)|cohabitation]] (1986–1988), under [[Jacques Chirac]]'s government.<ref name=Monde /> In 1997 he testified as a witness during the trial of [[Maurice Papon]], charged of [[crimes against humanity]] committed under the [[Vichy regime]], and declared: "The time has come when the Frenchmen could stop hating themselves and begin to grant pardon to themselves".<ref>French: "''Le temps est venu où les Français pourraient cesser de se haïr et commencer de se pardonner"'', quoted by Thomas Ferenczi in [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-949062,0.html?xtor=RSS-3208 Le gaulliste Pierre Messmer est mort] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070908185613/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-949062,0.html?xtor=RSS-3208 |date=8 September 2007 }}, ''[[Le Monde]]'', 29 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Along with some other former Resistants, he demanded Papon's [[pardon]] in 2001.<ref name=Monde />

He died in 2007 aged 91, just four days after fellow Prime Minister [[Raymond Barre]]. He was the last surviving major French Politician to have been a member of the Free French forces.

== Political career ==

'''Governmental functions'''

*Prime Minister: 1972–1974
*Minister of State, Minister of Departments and Overseas Territories: 1971–1972
*Minister of Armies: 1960–1969

'''Electoral mandates'''

'''''National Assembly'''''

*Member of the [[National Assembly of France]] for [[Moselle (department)|Moselle]]: 1969–1971, 1974–1988

'''''Regional Council'''''

*President of the Regional Council of [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine]]: 1978–1979
*Regional councillor of [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine]]: 1968–1992

'''''General Council'''''

*General councillor of [[Moselle (department)|Moselle]]: 1970–1982

'''''Municipal Council'''''

*Mayor of [[Sarrebourg]]: 1971–1989
*Municipal councillor of [[Sarrebourg]]: 1971–1989

== Honours ==

An important figure of the French Resistance during World War II, Pierre Messmer was a member of the [[Ordre de la Libération]], and the recipient of numerous decorations including the highest rank of the [[Légion d'honneur]]. In 2006, he was named Chancellier de l'Ordre de la Libération after the death of General [[Alain de Boissieu]].<ref name=Fig /> He was also an officer of the [[American Legion]].<ref name=Fig />

In 1992 he became president of the [[Institut Charles de Gaulle]] and, in 1995, of the [[Fondation Charles de Gaulle]].<ref name=Monde />

He also became elected as a member of the [[Académie française]] (the French language academy) in 1999, replacing a Gaullist comrade, [[Maurice Schumann]].<ref name=Monde /> He was also a member of the [[French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences]] since 1988, and, since 1976, of the [[Académie des sciences d'outre-mer]] (Academy of Sciences of Overseas Territories). He was named perpetual secretary of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences in 1995.<ref name=Fig>[http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/20070829.WWW000000383_pierre_messmer_est_mort.html Pierre Messmer est mort] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929124436/http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/20070829.WWW000000383_pierre_messmer_est_mort.html |date=29 September 2007 }}, ''[[Le Figaro]]'', 29 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> He was also chancellor of the [[Institut de France]] (1998–2005) before becoming honorary chancellor.<ref name=Fig />

In October 2001, Messmer succeeded to the General Jean Simon as President of the ''[[Fondation de la France libre]]'' (Foundation of Free France).<ref name=Fig />

===National===
*{{flag|France}}:
**[[File:Legion_Honneur_GC_ribbon.svg|60px]] Grand Cross of the [[National Order of the Legion of Honour]] (1993)
**[[File:Legion of Honour - Grand Officer (France).png|60px]] Grand Officer of the [[National Order of the Legion of Honour]] (1974)

===Foreign===
*{{flag|Indonesia}}:
**[[File:Bintang Republik_Indonesia Adipradana Ribbon1.gif|60px]] [[Star of the Republic of Indonesia]], 2nd Class (1972)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/video/caf94085602/m-suharto-au-quai-d-orsay | title=M Suharto au quai d'Orsay &#124; INA }}</ref>

== Messmer's First Ministry, 5 July 1972 – 2 April 1973 ==
*Pierre Messmer – Prime Minister
*[[Maurice Schumann]] – Minister of Foreign Affairs
*[[Michel Debré]] – Minister of National Defense
*[[Raymond Marcellin]] – Minister of the Interior
*[[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] – Minister of Economy and Finance
*[[Jean Charbonnel]] – Minister of Industrial and Scientific Development
*[[Joseph Fontanet]] – Minister of National Education, Labour, Employment, and Population
*[[René Pleven]] – Minister of Justice
*[[André Bord]] – Minister of Veterans
*[[Jacques Duhamel]] – Minister of Cultural Affairs
*[[Jacques Chirac]] – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
*[[Olivier Guichard]] – Minister of Housing, Tourism, Equipment, and Regional Planning
*[[Robert Galley (French politician)|Robert Galley]] – Minister of Transport
*[[Jean Foyer]] – Minister of Public Health
*[[Hubert Germain]] – Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
*[[Yvon Bourges]] – Minister of Commerce
*[[Roger Frey]] – Minister of Administrative Reforms
*[[Edgar Faure]] – Minister of Social Affairs

'''Changes'''
*15 March 1973 – [[André Bettencourt]] succeeds Schumann as interim Minister of Foreign Affairs.
*16 March 1973 – Pierre Messmer succeeds Pleven as interim Minister of Justice.

== Messmer's Second Ministry, 6 April 1973 – 1 March 1974 ==
*Pierre Messmer – Prime Minister
*[[Michel Jobert]] – Minister of Foreign Affairs
*[[Robert Galley]] – Minister of Armies
*[[Raymond Marcellin]] – Minister of the Interior
*[[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] – Minister of Economy and Finance
*[[Jean Charbonnel]] – Minister of Industrial and Scientific Development
*[[Georges Gorse]] – Minister of Labour, Employment, and Population
*[[Jean Taittinger]] – Minister of Justice
*[[Joseph Fontanet]] – Minister of National Education
*[[André Bord]] – Minister of Veterans and War Victims
*[[Maurice Druon]] – Minister of Cultural Affairs
*[[Jacques Chirac]] – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
*[[Robert Poujade]] – Minister of Natural Protection and Environment
*[[Bernard Stasi]] – Minister of Overseas Departments and Territories
*[[Olivier Guichard]] – Minister of Housing, Tourism, Regional Planning, and Equipment
*[[Yves Guéna]] – Minister of Transport
*[[Joseph Comiti]] – Minister of Relations with Parliament
*[[Michel Poniatowski]] – Minister of Public Health
*[[Hubert Germain]] – Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
*[[Philippe Malaud]] – Minister of Information
*[[Jean Royer]] – Minister of Commerce and Craft Industry
*[[Alain Peyrefitte]] – Minister of Administrative Reforms

''Changes''
*23 October 1973 – [[Philippe Malaud]] becomes Minister of Civil Service. [[Jean-Philippe Lecat]] succeeds Malaud as Minister of Information

== Messmer's Third Ministry, 1 March – 28 May 1974 ==
*Pierre Messmer – Prime Minister
*[[Michel Jobert]] – Minister of Foreign Affairs
*[[Robert Galley]] – Minister of Armies
*[[Jacques Chirac]] – Minister of the Interior
*[[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] – Minister of Economy and Finance
*[[Yves Guéna]] – Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Craft Industry
*[[Georges Gorse]] – Minister of Labour, Employment, and Population
*[[Jean Taittinger]] – Minister of Justice
*[[Joseph Fontanet]] – Minister of National Education
*[[Alain Peyrefitte]] – Minister of Cultural Affairs and Environment
*[[Raymond Marcellin]] – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
*[[Olivier Guichard]] – Minister of Regional Planning and Equipment
*[[Hubert Germain]] – Minister of Relations with Parliament
*[[Michel Poniatowski]] – Minister of Public Health
*[[Jean Royer]] – Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
*[[Jean-Philippe Lecat]] – Minister of Information

'''Changes'''
*11 April 1974 – [[Hubert Germain]] succeeds Royer as interim Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.

== Bibliography ==

* 1939  ''Le Régime administratif des emprunts coloniaux.'' Thesis for his [[Doctorate of Laws]] (Librairie juridique et administrative)
* 1977  ''Le Service militaire. Débat avec Jean-Pierre Chevènement''  (Balland)
* 1985  ''Les Écrits militaires du général de Gaulle'', in collaboration with Professor Alain Larcan (PUF)
* 1992  ''Après tant de batailles, Mémoires''  (Albin Michel)
* 1998  ''Les Blancs s’en vont. Récits de décolonisation''  (Albin Michel)
* 2002  ''La Patrouille perdue''  (Albin Michel)
* 2003  ''Ma part de France''  (Xavier de Guibert)

== See also ==
*[[Politics of France]]
*[[France in the 20th century]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.geopolitis.net/TRAVERSANTES/L'ONU%20ET%20LES%20GUERRES%20CIVILES.pdf L'Organisation des Nations Unies et les guerres civiles] by Messmer {{in lang|fr}}
*[https://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/en/node/1537 Museum of the Order of the Liberation page on Pierre Messmer] {{in lang|fr}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|title=[[Minister of Defense (France)|Minister of the Armies]]|before=[[Pierre Guillaumat]]|after=[[Michel Debré]]|years=1960–1969}}
{{succession box|title=[[Minister of Overseas (France)|Minister of Overseas Departments and Territories]]|before=—|after=—|years=1971–1972}}
{{succession box|title=interim [[Minister of Justice (France)|Minister of Justice]]|before=[[René Pleven]]|after=[[Jean Taittinger]]|years=1973}}
{{S-end}}
{{Académie française Seat 13}}
{{Heads of government of France}}
<!--Governor of Cameroon from 1956 to 1958-->

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messmer, Pierre}}
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