Pierre-Paul-Henri-Gaston Doumergue

Born in a Protestant family; received a degree in law and was admitted to the bar in Nîmes (1885); served as a state official in Hanoi, Indochina (1890-1893) and juge de paix in Algeria (1893); elected as a radical to the Chambre des députés (Chamber of Deputies) from Nîmes (1893-1910); served as minister for the colonies (7 Jun 1902 - 24 Jan 1905, 26 Aug 1914 - 20 Mar 1917); minister of commerce, industry and labor (14 Mar 1906 - 25 Oct 1906), minister of commerce and industry (25 Oct 1906 - 4 Jan 1908); minister of public instruction and fine arts (4 Jan 1908 - 3 Nov 1910); elected to the Sénat (1910-1924); President of the Council of Ministers (9 Dec 1913 - 9 Jun 1914) and minister of foreign affairs (9 Dec 1913 - 9 Jun 1914, 3 Aug 1914 - 26 Aug 1914); president of the Sénat (22 Feb 1923 - 13 Jun 1924); elected President of the Republic (13 Jun 1924); term was marked by constant ministerial problems (15 different cabinets), social tensions caused by the beginning of the Great Depression; appointed President of the Council of Ministers (9 Feb 1934 - 8 Nov 1934) after a bloody riot in Paris (6 Feb 1934); unsuccessfully sought for increasing the powers of executive. Biography source: [1]