François Darlan

France state institutions Counter-revolutionary forces 1881–1942 ✕ Assassinated

French admiral who ran the Vichy government, sided with the Allies after the Torch landings and was assassinated

A graduate of the École navale, he was made admiral of the fleet in 1939, a rank created for him, and commanded the French Navy at the start of the Second World War. After the 1940 armistice he served Pétain's Vichy regime as Minister of Marine, and from February 1941, as Vice-President of the Council and minister of foreign affairs, the interior and defence, was the de facto head of the government. In April 1942 he gave up his ministries to Laval at German insistence but kept command of the French armed forces. In Algiers when the Allies landed that November, he struck a deal with Eisenhower that made him High Commissioner for North and West Africa in return for ordering French forces to stop resisting. On 24 December he was assassinated by Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, a 20-year-old monarchist.

Also known as: Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan · Francois Darlan