Germaine Poinso-Chapuis

Germaine Poinso-Chapuis (6 March 1901, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône – 20 February 1981 ) was a French politician. She was the first woman to hold a Cabinet-level post in the French government. Her political convictions have been characterized as bearing the influence of both Catholic and feminist traditions.

Political career Born Germaine Chapuis in the Bouches-du-Rhône district of Marseille, Poinso-Chapuis was one of the first women in the city to qualify and practice as a lawyer, passing the bar in 1921. the precursor to the Popular Republican Movement (MRP). Within the PDP she campaigned to increase political representation of women. During the Second World War, she was involved in the French Resistance. It was with the MRP that she entered the constituent parliament in 1945, winning election to the seat for her native Bouches-du-Rhône. She remained an advocate for women's rights throughout her career, arguing in 1946 for a change in regulations to allow women to serve as judges.

Poinso-Chapuis was in November 1947 appointed to the ministry of Public Health and Population in the government of Robert Schuman. In the month before the government fell, Poinso-Chapuis brought in a decree which gave an allowance to every parent of a French school child.

The "Poinso-Chapuis decree" In post Poinso-Chapuis introduced a number of measures, including to extend the provision of vaccination and to enhance the status of nurses. who was shortly afterward replaced as Prime Minister (albeit only for a month) by the Radical André Marie. Poinso-Chapuis too, although she had never formally signed the decree, lost her post over the affair, being replaced by Pierre Schneiter.

Poinso-Chapuis nonetheless remained a member of the National Assembly, winning reelection in the 1951 elections. For the remainder of her career she voted largely with the MRP party line.

Personal life Poinso-Chapuis was married in 1937 to Henri Poinso, a fellow lawyer, with whom she had two children.

Legacy Several places are named after her, including a street in Poitiers and a technical high-school in Marseille.

Honours Legion of Honour Resistance Medal Ordre de la Santé publique