Félix Éboué

Who was Félix Éboué?

Félix Adolphe Éboué was a Black French colonial administrator and Free French leader. He was the first black French man appointed to high post in the French colonies, when appointed as Governor of Guadeloupe in 1936. As governor of Chad during most of World War II, he helped build support for the Free French in 1940, leading to broad electoral support for Charles De Gaulle's group after the war. He supported educated Africans and placed more in the colonial administration, as well as supporting preservation of African culture. In 1944 he was the first black to have his ashes placed at the Pantheon in Paris after his death.