François Meyer (military officer)

François Meyer (22 October 1933 – 10 June 2022) was a French military officer who achieved the rank of brigadier general.[1]

This article is about the military officer. For the wrester, see François Meyer.
François Meyer
Born22 October 1933
France
Died10 June 2022(2022-06-10) (aged 88)
Clamart, France
NationalityFrench
EducationÉcole spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr
OccupationMilitary officer

Biography

The son of an engineer and an officer of the French Air Force,[2] Meyer grew up in Versailles. He studied at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr and chose to enter the cavalry.[3]

Meyer took part in the Algerian War, where he was a member of the 23rd Spahis regiment in Oranie from 1958 to 1962.[2] He successfully led two harkis and was first commando chief of the operation sector of Géryville and Boualem. At the end of the war, which resulted in Algeria's independence, 80,000 harkis and their families were massacred by the new government. However, Meyer managed to save 350 people who settled in the Larzac and Sissonne.[4] The harkis who settled here became farmers.[3]

After the war, Meyer worked to maintain the memories of his fellow soldiers in combat, publishing a book in 2005.[3] On 14 April 2012, President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded him the dignity of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour.[5] On 20 September 2021, President Emmanuel Macron presented him with his insignia as a holder of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour at a reception at the Élysée Palace.[6]

François Meyer died in Clamart on 10 June 2022, at the age of 88.[7]

Decorations

Publication
  • Pour l'honneur... avec les harkis : De 1958 à nos jours (2005)

References
  1. "Décret du 11 décembre 2003 portant élévation à la dignité de grand'croix et de grand officier". Légifrance (in French). 14 December 2003. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  2. "Défenseur des harkis". Ministère des Armées (in French). 14 April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  3. Hofstein, Cyril (19 February 2021). "Général Meyer, pour l'honneur des harkis". Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  4. Aïssaoui, Mohammed (13 March 2012). "François Meyer, au nom de tous les harkis". Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  5. "Général François Meyer a été fait Grand Officier dans l'ordre de la Légion d'Honneur". Fondation pour la Mémoire de la guerre d'Algérie, des combats du Maroc et de Tunisie (in French). 14 April 2012. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  6. Poincaré, Nicolas (20 September 2021). "Harki et guerre d'Algérie: qui est François Meyer, ce général français décoré... pour avoir désobéi?". BFM TV (in French). Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  7. "Le général François Meyer, qui avait aidé des harkis à fuir l'Algérie, est mort". Le Figaro (in French). 11 June 2022. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  8. "Décret du 31 décembre 2020 portant élévation aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand officier dans l'ordre national de la Légion d'honneur". Légifrance (in French). 1 January 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
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