Alain Poher
Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher (French: [alɛ̃ pɔɛʁ]; 17 April 1909 – 9 December 1996) was a French politician who briefly served as Acting President of France twice, in 1969 and 1974. He held the office ad interim as President of the Senate following the resignation of Charles de Gaulle and the death of Georges Pompidou. Poher was affiliated with the Popular Republican Movement (MRP) until 1966 and later with the Democratic Centre (CD) and Centre of Social Democrats (CSD), which he joined in 1976.
Alain Poher | |
|---|---|
Poher in 1969 | |
| Acting President of France | |
| In office 2 April 1974 – 27 May 1974 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Messmer |
| Preceded by | Georges Pompidou |
| Succeeded by | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing |
| In office 28 April 1969 – 20 June 1969 | |
| Prime Minister | Maurice Couve de Murville |
| Preceded by | Charles de Gaulle |
| Succeeded by | Georges Pompidou |
| President of the Senate | |
| In office 3 October 1968 – 1 October 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Gaston Monnerville |
| Succeeded by | René Monory |
| President of the European Parliament | |
| In office 7 March 1966 – 11 March 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Victor Leemans |
| Succeeded by | Mario Scelba |
| Senator | |
| In office 18 May 1952 – 1 October 1995 | |
| Constituency | Seine-et-Oise (1952–1968) Val-de-Marne (1968–1995) |
| In office 8 December 1946 – 7 November 1948 | |
| Constituency | Seine-et-Oise |
| Mayor of Ablon-sur-Seine | |
| In office 18 May 1945 – March 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Édouard Désiré Juvigny |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Pierre Hermellin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher 17 April 1909 Ablon-sur-Seine, France |
| Died | 9 December 1996 (aged 87) 16th arrondissement of Paris, France |
| Political party | Popular Republican Movement (1946–1966) Democratic Centre (1966–1976) Centre of Social Democrats (1976–1995) Democratic Force (1995–1996) |
| Other political affiliations | Union for French Democracy (1978–1996) |
| Spouse | Henriette Tugler |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Mines ParisTech Sciences Po |
| Occupation | Engineer, civil servant |
| Signature | |
A native of Ablon-sur-Seine south of Paris, Poher was a long-time member the Senate (1946–1948; 1952–1995), where he sat first for Seine-et-Oise until 1968 and then Val-de-Marne. He also served as President of the European Parliament from 1966 to 1969. As President of the Senate from 1968 to 1992 and the sole unelected President of France under the Fifth Republic, Poher remained an influential figure of the politics of 20th-century France. A leading candidate in the 1969 presidential election, he was defeated by Pompidou in the second round.
Poher died at the age of 87 in December 1996, a year after his retirement from the Senate.