Augustin Laurent
| Augustin Laurent | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones | |
|
In office 10 September 1944 – 27 June 1945 |
|
| Preceded by | Jean Bichelonne |
| Succeeded by | Eugène Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
6 September 1896 Wahagnies, Nord, France |
| Died | 1 October 1990 (aged 94) Wasquehal, Nord, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Miner |
Augustin Laurent (9 September 1896 – 1 October 1990) was a French coal miner, journalist and socialist politician. He was a national deputy both before and after World War II (1939–45). During the war he was active in the French Resistance. After the liberation of France he was Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones in the provisional government between September 1944 and June 1945. He was active as a socialist in the post-war legislature until 1951, when he decided to focus on local politics. He was mayor of Lille from 1955 to 1973.
Augustin Laurent was born on 9 September 1896 in Wahagnies, Nord, to a family of miners. He began working in the mines when he was very young. During World War I (1914–18) he fought at the front for 46 months. He was decorated with the Croix de Guerre.
Laurent became involved in the socialist movement in the Nord, and in 1931 was elected to the General Council of Nord. In the 1936 general elections he was the Popular Front candidate for the 6th district of Lille and was elected in the second round of voting. In the chamber he sat with the socialist group of the Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière (SFIO, French Section of the Workers' International). He was a member of the executive committee of the SFIO.
Laurent was absent from Vichy on 10 July 1940 when Marshal Philippe Pétain was granted full powers, and immediately showed his hostility to the Vichy France regime. He became one of the leaders of the French Resistance. From October 1940 he wrote articles for L'Homme libre, a clandestine publication edited by his friend Jean-Baptiste Lebas, and then from the end of 1941 wrote for its successor Quatrième République. Laurent became organizing secretary in the clandestine executive committee of the Socialist Party, coordinating activity between the occupied zone and the free zone. He was almost arrested, and in 1942 moved to Lyon, where he was a member of the political committee for the Libération-Sud movement, and led the France au combat network. He often visited the north to maintain links and transmit orders and information, and also participated in editing, publishing and distributing clandestine journals. He was encouraged to represent the Socialist Party in the National Council of the Resistance, but refused since he preferred to focus on organizing the resistance in the Nord.
...
Wikipedia