Adolphe Crémieux

Isaac-Jacob Adolphe Crémieux (; 30 April 1796 – 10 February 1880) was a French lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Justice under the Second Republic and Government of National Defense (1870–1871). Raised Jewish, he served as president of the Alliance Israélite Universelle (1863–67; 1868–80), secured French citizenship for Algerian Jews under French rule through the Crémieux Decree (1870),

Biography He was born in Nîmes to a wealthy Papal Jew family, which had migrated from the papal enclave of Carpentras to Nîmes. He married a member of the Silny family in 1824.

Political career After the July Revolution of 1830 he came to Paris, formed connections with numerous political figures, even with King Louis Philippe, and became a brilliant defender of Liberal ideas in the law courts and in the press. Examples include his Éloge funèbre of the bishop Grégoire (1830), his Mémoire for the political rehabilitation of Marshal Ney (1833), and his plea for the accused of April 1835. Elected deputy in 1842, he was one of the leaders in the campaign against the Guizot ministry, and his eloquence contributed greatly to the success of his party.

From 1834 until his death, Crémieux served as vice-president of the "Consistoire Central des Israélites de France" (Central Consistory of the Jews of France), the administrative agency for all French Jews. On 24 February 1848 he was chosen by the Republicans as a member of the provisional government, and as minister of justice he secured the decrees abolishing the death penalty for political offenses, and making the office of judge immovable. He was an early supporter of the Alliance Israélite Universelle—established in Paris in 1860—serving as its president from 1863 to 1867, then again from 1868 until his death in 1880. In 1866 he joined Suprême Conseil de France and became 33rd degree and Great Commander in 1868. During his masonic career, he encouraged republicans and monarchists to work together.

Death Crémieux died in Paris in 1880 and was buried at Montparnasse cemetery.

Commemoration A street is named after him in Jerusalem's German Colony neighborhood, as well as in central Tel Aviv and the French Carmel district in Haifa.

He is the subject of two lithographs by Honoré Daumier, both poking fun at his ugliness. The first was in 1848 in the "Representatives Represented" series, with caption "Great lover of change, nothing would be missing from his happiness if one day he changed his face!" The other was a year later, captioned, "Mr. Crémieux looking for an apartment: If I rent this lodging, I would like the landlord to take down this dreadful portrait... oh! but, Good God, it's a mirror!..."