Émile Loubet

Émile François Loubet (; 30 December 183820 December 1929) was the 45th Prime Minister of France from February to December 1892 and later President of France from 1899 to 1906.

Trained in law, he became mayor of Montélimar, where he was noted as a forceful orator. He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1876 and the Senate in 1885. He was appointed as a Republican minister under Carnot and Ribot. He was briefly Prime Minister of France in 1892. As President, he saw the successful Paris Exhibition of 1900, and the forging of the Entente Cordiale with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, resolving their sharp differences over the Boer War and the Dreyfus Affair.

Early life Loubet was born on 30 December 1838, the son of a peasant proprietor and mayor of Marsanne (Drôme). Admitted to the Parisian bar in 1862, he took his doctorate in law the next year. He was still a student when he witnessed the sweeping triumph of the Republican party in Paris at the general election in 1863, during the Second French Empire. He settled down to the exercise of his profession in Montélimar, where in 1869 he married Marie-Louise Picard. He also inherited a small estate at Grignan.

Physical description

American politician William Jennings Bryan described Loubet as "below the medium height, even for Frenchmen. His shoulders are broad and his frame indicative of great physical strength. His hair is snow white, as are also his beard and mustache. He wears his beard square cut at the chin. . . . His voice is soft, and he speaks with great vivacity, emphasizing his words by expressive gestures."

Political career

At the crisis of 1870, which brought about the Empire's end, he became mayor of Montélimar, and thenceforward was a steady supporter of Léon Gambetta. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1876 by Montélimar, he was one of the notable 363 parliamentarians who in the 16 May 1877 crisis passed a vote of no confidence in the ministry of Albert, the duke of Broglie.

President of the French Republic (1899–1906)

His standing as a moderate statesman and a skilled orator led to his election as president of the senate in 1896. In February 1899, he was chosen president of the republic in succession to Félix Faure by 483 votes as against 279 recorded by Jules Méline, his only serious competitor. When his presidency came to an end in January 1906, he became the first President of the Third Republic to have served a full term and without resigning a second one.

Loubet's Ministry, 27 February6 December 1892 Émile Loubet – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior Alexandre Ribot – Minister of Foreign Affairs Charles de Freycinet – Minister of War Maurice Rouvier – Minister of Finance Louis Ricard – Minister of Justice and Worship Jules Roche – Minister of Commerce, Industry, and the Colonies Godefroy Cavaignac – Minister of Marine Léon Bourgeois – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Jules Develle – Minister of Agriculture Yves Guyot – Minister of Public Works

Changes 8 March 1892 – Godefroy Cavaignac succeeds Roche as Minister for the Colonies. Roche remains Minister of Commerce and Industry.