Georges Clemenceau

From Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium

Georges Clemenceau (September 28, 1841 - November 24, 1919) was a French statesman, journalist and a dominant figure in the French Third Republic and, as Premier (1917-20) was a major contributor to the Allied victory in World War One. Clemenceau was also an important framer of the Treaty of Versailles.

A lifelong Republican, Clemenceau left France during the French Second Empire for a period in the United States (1865-69). After helping to found (1870-71) the new French Republic, he pursued an embattled political and journalistic career over the next forty years. His long struggle for justice in the Dreyfus Affair brought him to worldwide attention. His ministerial career before 1914 and his wartime government service culminated in his term as premier and his leadership at Versailles.