Eleven-time prime minister and the foreign minister behind the Locarno Treaties and the Kellogg–Briand Pact
Born in Nantes in 1862 to a family of innkeepers, he became a lawyer, threw himself into the trade-union movement and the socialist press, and founded L'Humanité with Jean Jaurès. Elected socialist deputy in 1902, he carried the 1905 law separating church and state as its rapporteur, but joining the Sarrien cabinet in 1906 got him expelled from the SFIO. He first became President of the Council in 1909 and headed eleven governments in all. As foreign minister from 1925 until his death he pursued reconciliation with Germany, sharing the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize for the Locarno Treaties, and in 1928 concluded the Kellogg–Briand Pact. He lost the 1931 presidential election and died the following year.
Also known as: Aristide Pierre Henri Briand
Activities and affiliations
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1902–1904
French Socialist Party (1902–1905)
Political and party leadership -
1902–1932
Legislature and state representation
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1905–1906
French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)
Government and administration -
1909–1932
France state institutionsPresident of the Council, Minister of Foreign AffairsHeads of state and government of FranceMain
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1902–1932Deputy for the Loire, from 1919 for Loire-Inférieure
- 1906.03–1908.01Minister of Public Instruction and Worship
- 1908.01–1909.07Minister of Justice
- 1909.07.24–1911.02.27President of the Council of Ministers
- 1913.01.21–03.22President of the Council of Ministers
- 1915.10.29–1917.03.17President of the Council of Ministers
- 1921.01.16–1922.01.12President of the Council of Ministers
- 1925.11.28–1926.07.17President of the Council of Ministers
- 1929.07.29–10.22President of the Council of Ministers
- 1925.04–1932.01Minister of Foreign Affairs