2020-09-28 Mon

Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman who led the nation in the First World War. A leader of the Radical Party, he played a central role in politics during the Third Republic. Clemenceau served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. He was one of the principal architects of the Treaty of Versailles at the France Peace Conference of 1919.

At the peace conference, he demanded a victory that would keep France safe from Germany. He wanted reparations, a transfer of colonies, and strict rules to prevent a rearming process, as well as the restitution of Alsace-Lorraine. Clemenceau achieved these goals in the Treaty of Versailles signed at the Paris Peace Conference.

Nicknamed Pere la Victoire ("Father of Victory") or Le Tigre ("The Tiger"), he continued his harsh position against Germany in the 1920s, though not quite as much as President Raymond Poincare. He signed mutual defence treaties with Great Britain and the United States, to unite against a possible future German aggression, but these never took effect.

To honour him France Postal Department has issued a commemorative stamp of value 15 Franc in 1951.

Image Source: Colnect.com