Pierre Guillaume

Who was Pierre Guillaume?

Pierre Guillaume was an officer of the French Navy. He took part in the Algiers putsch of 1961 and in the Organisation de l'armée secrète far-right wing terrorist group.

Born to a divisional General of the French Army, Pierre Guillaume graduated from the École Navale in 1948. During the First Indochina War, he was officer in an assault naval division. In 1954, he was promoted to lieutenant de vaisseau. He attempted to sail to France on a junk named Le Manohara but ran aground on the coasts of Somalia on 13 November 1956.

In late 1956, Guillaume reached Paris where he learned of the death of his brother, Jean-Marie Guillaume, a paratroop lieutenant killed in the Algerian War. He requested and was granted a transfer to the Army, and took his brother's office, from 14 July 1957 to 12 March 1958. During the Algiers putsch of 1961, he was naval counselor to general Challe. After the putsch attempt failed, he was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment. He joined the Organisation de l'armée secrète, was arrested in May 1962, and sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment in Tulle prison.

He later worked as a naval security consultant in Saudi Arabia and took part in operations with Bob Denard in Comoros. He also fought for the Karen in Myanmar.