Auguste Champetier de Ribes

Who was Auguste Champetier de Ribes?

Auguste Champetier de Ribes was a French politician and jurist.

A devout Catholic, he was an early follower of Albert de Mun and social Christianity. Wounded in the First World War, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies from the Basses-Pyrénées as a Christian Democrat from 1924 to 1934. He was Senator from 1934 to 1940. He served as a junior minister or minister in various governments led by André Tardieu, Édouard Daladier, Paul Reynaud, and Pierre Laval.

In 1940, he was among the 80 parliamentarians who refused to give Pétain full powers and served in the Combat resistance movement. An early supporter of Charles de Gaulle, he was named by the Provisional Government of the French Republic as the French representative during the Nuremberg Trials. Upon his return, he was elected President of the Council of the Republic by the benefit of age. He had tied Communist Georges Marrane, but was elected because he was older than Marrane. Two days later, he was the defeated MRP candidate in the French presidential election, 1947. His health prevented him from assuming his role as President of the Council and he died in office.