Pierre de Chevigné

Pierre Gabriel Adhéaume de Chevigné (16 June 1909 – 4 April 2004) was a French politician, who was the Minister of Defence in the Fourth Republic between 14 May and 1 June 1958.

Pierre de Chevigné
Minister of Defence
In office
14 May 1958 – 1 June 1958
Prime MinisterPierre Pflimlin
Preceded byJacques Chaban-Delmas
Succeeded byCharles de Gaulle
Personal details
Born
Pierre Gabriel Adhéaume de Chevigné

(1909-06-16)16 June 1909
Toulon, France
Died4 April 2004(2004-04-04) (aged 94)
Biarritz, France
Political partyPopular Republican Movement
Spouses
Hélène Rodocanachi
​
(died 1939)​
  • Anne d'Ormesson
RelationsHenri de Castries (grandson)
Children2

Early life

Chevigné was born on 16 June 1909 in Toulon. He was a son of François Henri Marie Joseph Auguste de Chevigné and the former Gisèle Colas.[1]

Career

Chevigné graduated from Saint Cyr and became a career officer. He was wounded on several occasions in 1940, managed to rejoin De Gaulle in London and was a colonel in the Free French Forces.[2] After initial postings in Syria and Lebanon he was sent to Washington in 1942 as military attaché for the Free French. Upon his return to London he became chief of staff of the French Forces in Great-Britain.

After the Liberation he was sent to Madagascar as High-Commissioner.

A member of the Popular Republican Movement party, briefly served as the Minister of Defence in the Fourth Republic between 14 May and 1 June 1958 under Prime Minister Pierre Pflimlin.[3] In 1954, he was wounded slightly by grenade fragments during a tour of the Indo-China fighting front while inspecting French troops that had landed in territory held by Communist Việt Minh rebels.[4] Prime Minister Pflimlin served only briefly before the May 1958 crisis in France during the turmoil of the Algerian War of Independence which led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic and its replacement by the Fifth Republic led by Charles de Gaulle who returned to power after a twelve-year absence.[5]

He traveled to New York City in 1952.[6]

Personal life

He was married to Hélène Rodocanachi (1911–1939), a daughter of Petros Rodocanachis and the former Chariklia Salvagou. Together, they had two daughters, including:

  • Gisèle Françoise Andrée Simone de Chevigné (b. 1933), who married Count François de La Croix de Castries (1919/20–2011)[7] who had a military career in Korea, Indochina, and Algeria.[8]

After the death of his wife in 1939, he remarried to Anne d'Ormesson (c. 1915–2008).

Pierre de Chevigné died in Biarritz on 4th of April 2004.


References
  1. Weber, Caroline (2018). Proust's Duchess: How Three Celebrated Women Captured the Imagination of Fin-de-Siecle Paris. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 671. ISBN 978-0-307-96179-2.
  2. Sulzberger, C. L. (24 May 1958). "Foreign Affairs; The Army's Political Role in France". The New York Times.
  3. Times, Special to The New York (16 May 1958). "Members of Cabinet Listed by Pflimlin". The New York Times.
  4. "French War Secretary Wounded in Indo-China". The New York Times. 6 February 1954.
  5. Giniger, Henry (22 December 1958). "DE GAULLE WINS PRESIDENCY VOTE BY 4-TO-1 MARGIN; General Chosen for 7-Year Term With 78% of Ballots Cast by Electoral College TAKES OFFICE IN JANUARY Two Leftists Run Far Behind in Poll of 81,000 Notables -- Premier to Be Named". The New York Times.
  6. "French War Minister Here". The New York Times. 29 May 1952.
  7. "Décès de Castries, un des derniers officiers du Bataillon français de Corée | France-Amérique". Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  8. "Henri de Castries, 45 ans, successeur de sang bleu, va être adoubé par le monarque du groupe d'assurances AXA". Liberation. 13 March 2000. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
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