Élisabeth du Réau

Élisabeth du Réau, née de Chateauvieux (6 February 1937 – 6 February 2021), was a French historian and professor of international relations and contemporary history. She is well known for her biography of French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier, and her work on the construction of the European identity. She had a twenty-year career as a high school history instructor before embarking on an academic career spanning over thirty years.

Biography Childhood and education Born Élisabeth de Chateauvieux in 1937, she began her university studies in Angers in 1956, then continued at the University of Rennes.

She was awarded a master's with highest honors (mention très bien) in 1968, then passed the competitive agrégation exam in history-geography in 1969. She earned her doctorate in contemporary history from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne in 1987, again with highest honors (mention très honorable). In 1993 she published a condensed version as a biography of Daladier, Édouard Daladier, 1884-1970. This, as well as her 1996 book, Histoire de l’idée européenne au XXe siècle , became the works for which she is best known.

Du Réau took emerita status in 2005 but continued to lead doctoral seminars and supervise dissertations, overseeing more than a dozen in her retirement.

Publications Du Réau was the author of several books including: L'ordre mondial, de Versailles à San Francisco, juin 1919-juin 1945 (2007) La construction européenne au XXe siècle: fondements, enjeux, défis (2007)

She also edited or co-edited several edited volumes, including: Europe des élites? Europe des peuples? La construction de l'espace européen (1945-1960) (1997) Dynamiques européennes. Nouvel espace, nouveaux acteurs: 1969-1981 (with , 2003) Dynamiques et résistances politiques dans le nouvel espace européen (with Christine Manigand, 2005) Vers la réunification de l’Europe, Apports et limites du processus d'’Helsinki de 1975 à nos jours (with Christine Manigand, 2005) Les débats autour de la constitution pour l'Europe, enjeux et perspectives 2005-2008 (with Alain Laquièze, 2007) Maréchal Jean de Lattre - Ne Pas Subir, Écrits 1914-1952 (with André Kaspi, Marc Michel, Guy Pedroncini, 1984)