Georges+Clemenceau

by Wallis Sung

Georges Clemenceau, nicknamed “The Tiger”, was French prime minister twice, in 1906-1909 and again in 1917-1920. He was a statesman who led France to victory in World War I. He played a central role in politics after 1870 and was a leader of the Radical Party. After World War I, he was the representative of France in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. He was harsh against defeated Germany on the reparation payment.

Early life:
Georges Clemenceau was born in Mouilleron-en-Pareds, France on September 28, 1841. His mother, Sophie Eucharie Gautreau was from a Huguenot family, and his father, Benjamin Clemenceau, was a supporter of the 1848 Revolution. After Georges Clemenceau finished his studies in the Nantes Lycée, he received his French baccalaureate of letters in 1858. He then went to Paris to study medicine but did not practice there because he didn’t graduate.

Journalism and exile:[[image:http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2008/11/24/d2c8ae8e-b9f7-11dd-b624-25a59f9e7c80.jpg width="445" height="248" align="right" caption="Georges Clemenceau"]]
In Paris, Clemenceau became a political activist and a writer. In December 1861, he founded a weekly newsletter, Le Travail, with a group of friends. Clemenceau's newsletter was seized by the police and he spent 73 days in the Mazas Prison. After he was released, he started a new journal, Le Matin, but this also got him into trouble. In May 13, 1865, Clemenceau finished his medical studies and became a doctor. He went to New York City and founded several literary magazines and also wrote numerous articles. While in America, he was impressed by the political freedom enjoyed by people and he was considering settling in United States permanently. He found work as a schoolteacher in Stamford, Connecticut, and eventually married one of his former students, Mary Elizabeth Plummer. Clemenceau returned to France in 1869 and established himself as a doctor in Vendée. When Germany defeated France in 1870, Clemenceau moved to Paris and became involved in radical politics. In February 1871, Clemenceau was elected as a radical republican deputy in the National Assembly. It was during this period he was given the nickname “The Tiger” as a result of his aggressive debating style. In 1902 Clemenceau became a senator and four years later, at the age of 61, he was appointed minister of home affairs. As a right-wing nationalist, Clemenceau ruthlessly suppressed popular strikes and demonstrations. Seven months later, he became France’s prime minister.

His involvement in the Paris Peace Conference:
After World War I ended, Clemenceau, along with David Lloyd George and Woodrow Wilson, made up the Treaty of Versailles which accused Germany for starting the war. At the conference, Clemenceau, as a realist, was not satisfied the result of the treaty because he wanted to cripple Germany’s economy. His plan was to make Germany pay large sums of reparation; on the contrary, President Woodrow Wilson was an idealist and had opposite idea of Clemenceau. At the end of the conference, Clemenceau left with discontent.

Last years:
Clemenceau’s failure to achieve all his demands in Paris Peace Conference resulted him being rejected by the French electorate in January 1920. After retiring from politics, Clemenceau wrote his memoir //The Grandeur and Misery of Victory//. In his memoir, he warned of further conflict with Germany and predicted that 1940 would be the year of the gravest danger. On November 24, 1929, Clemenceau died in Pairs.

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