Georges Catroux
Georges Catroux (born 29 January 1877 in Limoges, France, † December 21, 1969 in Paris) was a French general and diplomat during the mid-20th century. He was one of the highest ranking members of the Movement of the Free French under Charles de Gaulle.
Life
A graduate of the French Military Academy of Saint- Cyr, Catroux took part as an officer in the First World War. After that, he held various positions in the French colonial administration until he was appointed by the Colonial Minister Georges Mandel Governor-General of French Indochina in July 1938. When he took office on August 22, he was the first military governor of the colony, since the civilian administration was launched there in 1879.
His main task was French Indochina hedge against expansionist ambitions of the Japanese who fought a brutal war of aggression since 1937 in China. Since France was, however, occupied by German troops in the summer of 1940, the colony was practically isolated. The occupation of the colony by Japanese troops in July 1941, he could not stop because of that. Since Catroux was not a supporter of the 1940 installed Vichy government, he had entered into negotiations with British diplomats to thwart with the help of English forces the threatened occupation French Indochina. When the Vichy administration was known, Catroux relieved of his post. He was succeeded by Admiral Jean Decoux who held the position until March 1945.
After his release Catroux occurred in the meantime founded by Charles de Gaulle government of free France. As a representative of this government in the Middle East in 1941 he declared the independence of Syria and Lebanon. 1943 to 1944 he was Governor-General of Algeria. In 1944 he was North African ministers in the French Provisional Government. From 1945 to 1948 he was finally French ambassador to the Soviet Union. After riots in Morocco, he negotiated in 1955 on the return of the Moroccan King Mohammed V in his home country. As North African Minister in the cabinet of Guy Mollet he could not exercise his office because proclaimed in Algiers on February 6, 1956 declarations of the nationalists.
Catroux was a judge at the military tribunal, which led the trial of the generals Raoul Salan, Maurice Challe, Edmond Jouhaud and André Zeller, who were members of the secret organization OAS. They had led to prevent the secession of Algeria by France on 23 April 1961 in Algiers a military coup against President de Gaulle, were, however, soon failed.
Publications
- In the battle for the Mediterranean (French: Dans la bataille de la Méditerranée ) ( 1950)
- Lyautey of Moroccans (French: le Marocain Lyautey ) ( 1952)
- Two missions in the Middle East, 1919-1922 (in French: Deux missions au Moyen -Orient, 1919-1922 ) ( 1958)
- Two acts of the Indochinese drama - Hanoi July 1940 / Dien Bien Phu: March-May 1954 (French: deux actes du drame indochinois - Hanoï: juin 1940 / Dien Bien Phu: mars -mai 1954. ) ( 1959)