| Scroll down ->
|
 Vendee republican |
Clemenceau was born September 28, 1841 in Mouilleron-en-Pareds in France's Vendee region. His father, an ardent republican, was arrested and imprisoned for a short time following Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's 1851 coup-d'etat. |
|
| Revolutionary student |
In Paris in order to complete medical studies begun in Nantes, Clemenceau rapidly becomes part of the most progressive political, intellectual and artistic circles. |
|
| Doctor to the poor |
In 1869, he establishes a free clinic in 23 rue des Trois-Frères near the Montmartre town hall. |
|
| Friend of Louise Michel |
He befriends Montmartre schoolteacher Louise Michel. |
|
| Mayor of Montmartre |
During the Commune in 1870, Clemenceau is appointed acting mayor of 18th Paris district. In 1871, he is elected city councilman for Clignancourt. |
|
| Defender of the Communards |
A deputy after the Commune, Clemenceau is among the most passionate defenders of amnesty for the Communards. |
|
| Man of the press |
In 1860 He establishes his first newspaper, Le Travail. Throughout his life, Clemenceau will be the key writer or founder of numerous publications. |
|
| Anti-colonialist |
He fiercely opposes colonial expansionism, particularly that led by Jules Ferry between 1881 and 1885. |
|
| Destroyer of ministries |
Elected deputy for Paris in 1881 and head of the left wing opposition, Clemenceau is a leading figure in parliamentary debates. He is nicknamed the "destroyer of ministries" after repeatedly driving governments from power. |
|
| Defender of Dreyfus |
Matthieu Dreyfus convinces Clemenceau that his brother Captain Alfred Dreyfus is innocent. He publishes 665 articles defending Dreyfus and devises the famous headline, "J’accuse", for Zola’s 1898 article in L’Aurore. |
|
| Anti-clericalist |
He plays an active role in the debates preceding the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State. |
|
| Police reformer |
As President of the Council (i.e. Prime Minister) and Interior Minister from 1906 to 1909, Clemenceau reorganizes and modernizes the police (later popularized in the French TV series « The Tiger Brigades »). |
|
| Strikebreaker |
In 1908, he sends in the troops against strikers at Draveil. |
|
| The Chained Man |
Clemenceau responds to the censorship of his newspaper, L’Homme Libre, at the start of World War I by changing the name to L’Homme Enchainé. |
|
| The Tiger |
His courage, combativeness, and intransigence earn him the nickname the Tiger. |
|
| Father Victory |
In 1917, at the height of World War I, Clemenceau is again chosen to head the government. His efforts to revive troop morale win him enormous acclaim from the people. |
|
| Framer of Versailles |
Alongside American President Wilson and the British PM Lloyd George, Clemenceau imposes harsh conditions on a vanquished Germany and its allies. |
|
| Author |
Besides his political works, Clemenceau is the author of a novel, The Strongest, and a Chinese-themed play, The Veil of Happiness, which is set to music, performed in Paris and made into a movie. |
|
| Friend of Monet |
Clemenceau's friendship with the impressionist painter dates from the 1890s. They shared a taste for Japanese decorative art and Monet makes a painting for Clemenceau entitled "Le Bloc", a painting now owned by Queen Elizabeth (a reproduction hangs in Clemenceau’s study). |
|
| World traveler |
He lived in the United States from 1865 to 1869, toured South America in 1910, and traveled in Egypt, India and Indonesia between September 1920 and March 1921. He returned to the United States for a lecture tour in 1922 at age 81. Clemenceau died in Paris on November 24, 1929. |
|
