Biography of François-Marsal, Frédéric - Archontology
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François-Marsal, Frédéric

Frédéric François-Marsal

b. 16 Mar 1874, Paris
d. 20 May 1958, Gisors, Eure

Title: Président du Conseil des ministres (President of the Council of Ministers)
Term: 9 Jun 1924 - 14 Jun 1924
Chronology: 9 Jun 1924, appointed, decree of the President of the Republic [1]
11 Jun 1924, following the resignation of the incumbent, the functions of President of the Republic devolved on the Council of Ministers in accordance with Art. 7 of a constitutional law of 25 Feb 1875
13 Jun 1924, functions of the President of the Republic are assumed by the newly elected incumbent [2]
14 Jun 1924, ceased to hold the office upon the appointment of a successor [3]
Names/titles: Original family name: François (changed to François-Marsal in accordance with decree of the President of the Republic of 22 Jun 1912) [4]
Biography:
Born into a family of Lorraine origin; attended the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris; studied at the Military Academy of Saint-Cyr (École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr) (1894-1896); commissioned second lieutenant (1896); sent on mission to Indochina where he was attached (1900-1904) to the cabinet of Governor-General Paul Doumer; resigned his army commission in 1905 and was given a job in bank sector in Lyon; moved to Paris in 1912; joined the army as captain of light infantry at the beginning of World War I (1914); was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and transferred to the general headquarters of the French Army (1915); became a member of the general staff of the Eastern Army Group (1917); served as head of financial and economic studies group in the cabinet of Georges Clemenceau; after the war, he was made administrator of the Banque de l'Union Parisienne; appointed financial expert to the French delegation at the Paris Peace Conference (1919); joined the Republican Federation (Fédération républicaine); wrote a number of articles for Écho de Paris (1919), leading a vigorous campaign of opposition to the government; was appointed minister of finance (20 Jan 1920 - 16 Jan 1921, 29 Mar 1924 - 14 Jun 1924) in the cabinets of Alexandre Millerand, Georges Leygues and Raymond Poincaré; was responsible for organizing financial support for Poland threatened by the Russian Red Army in the summer of 1920; elected to the Sénat (1921-1930) from Cantal; contributed to the press campaign in France and Belgium for the occupation of the Ruhr (1922); served briefly as President of the Council of Ministers (9 Jun 1924 - 14 Jun 1924), including a period during the vacancy in the office of President of the Republic (11 Jun 1924 - 13 Jun 1924) when the government was entrusted with executive power in accordance with the Constitutional Law on Organization of Public Powers of 1875; his minority government was censured by the Chambre des députés (10 Jun 1924), leading to the resignation of Millerand.
Biographical sources: Dictionnaire des parlementaires français 1889-1940, 5:1734-1735.

[1] JORF- Lois et décrets, No. 158, 10 Jun 1924, p. 5293.
[2] JORF - Lois et décrets, No. 162, 14 Jun 1924, p. 5386.
[3] JORF- Lois et décrets, No. 163, 15 Jun 1924, p. 5402.
[4] Original birth record is preserved in the Archives of Paris, 8e arrondissement, naissances, V4E 3391, #402.