Édouard Herriot summary

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Édouard Herriot, (born July 5, 1872, Troyes, France—died March 26, 1957, Lyon), French politician and writer. He became mayor of Lyon in 1905 and kept the post for most of his life. Elected as a member of the Radical Party to the Chamber of Deputies (1919), he led the opposition to the Bloc National as head of the Cartel des Gauches (1924). As prime minister (1924–25) he forced the resignation of the president, Alexandre Millerand and led France to accept the Dawes Plan and to recognize the Soviet Union. In 1926 he was prime minister for three days and held the position again in 1932. He abstained from voting when the National Assembly gave full powers to Philippe Pétain at Vichy in 1940 and then was arrested and deported to Germany (1942–45). He returned to France and served as president of the National Assembly from 1947 to 1954. In his long career he served in nine different cabinets.

prime minister Summary

Prime minister, the head of government in a country with a parliamentary or semipresidential political system. In such systems, the prime minister—literally the “first,” or most important, minister—must be able to command a continuous majority in the legislature (usually the lower house in a

Lyon Summary

Lyon, capital of both the Rhône département and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région, east-central France, set on a hilly site at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. It is the third largest city in France, after Paris and Marseille. A Roman military colony called Lugdunum was founded there in

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not

France Summary

France, country of northwestern Europe. Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western world, France has also played a highly significant role in international affairs, with former colonies in every corner of the globe. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the