让·莫内

生平

莫内在法国登上政治舞台前，在经济界已具有一定的政治影响力。他曾经前往英国运动和美国从事外交活动，为欧洲统一作出突出贡献。

Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (French: [ʒɑ̃ mɔnɛ]; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, and administrator. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union.

Jean Monnet has been called "The Father of Europe" by those who see his innovative and pioneering efforts in the 1950s as the key to establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, the predecessor of today's European Union. Although Monnet was never elected to public office, he worked behind the scenes of American and European governments as a well-connected "pragmatic internationalist".

For three decades, Jean Monnet and Charles de Gaulle had a multifaceted relationship, at some times cooperative and at other times distrustful, from a first encounter in London during the Battle of France in mid-June 1940 until De Gaulle's death in November 1970. Monnet and De Gaulle have been referred to together as "probably the two most outstanding Frenchmen of the 20th century".

Jean Monnet was the first-ever individual to be designated as an Honorary Citizen of Europe in 1976. On the hundredth anniversary of his birth in 1988, his native country of France honoured Monnet's memory by transferring his mortal remains to the Panthéon in Paris.

Early years

Monnet was born in Cognac, a commune in the department of Charente in France, into a family of cognac merchants. According to Jacques-René Rabier, the values of laicism (secularism) and republicanism, as well as a strong Catholic tradition, co-existed in Monnet's family.……

World War I

Monnet firmly believed that the only path to an Allied victory lay in combining the war efforts of Britain and France, and he reflected on a concept that would coordinate war resources.……

Interwar period

At the Paris Peace Conference, Monnet was an assistant to the French minister of commerce and industry, Étienne Clémentel, who proposed a "new economic order" based on European cooperation. The scheme was officially rejected by the Allies in April 1919.

World War II

In September 1939, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier sent Monnet to London to coordinate the organization of Franco-British war supplies.……

The Blum–Byrnes Agreement

In 1946, Monnet successfully negotiated the Blum–Byrnes agreement with the United States, which cleared France from a $2.8 billion debt (mostly World War I loans) and provided the country with an additional low-interest loan of $650 million. In return, France opened its cinemas to American movies.

The Monnet Plan

In 1946, faced with the challenge of reconstruction after WWII, France implemented the Modernization and Re-equipment Plan, which was designed to spur economic recovery.……

European Coal and Steel Community

Following World War II, when tensions between France and Germany rose over the control of the then vital coal and steel industries, Monnet proposed replacing the International Authority for the Ruhr with an agreement to pool French and German coal and steel industries.……

Luxembourg departure

"The Paris apartment which was to become the headquarters of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe was ready to receive the furniture from our house at Bricherhof on the outskirts of Luxembourg, already packed up.……

Action Committee for the United States of Europe

In 1955, Monnet founded the Action Committee for the United States of Europe in order to revive European construction following the failure of the European Defence Community (EDC).……

Memoirs

Writing about his life and the principles which drove his action was a longstanding project which Monnet delayed for years, as he gave higher priority to his other projects.……

Private life

In August 1929, during a dinner party in Paris, the 41-year-old Monnet met 22-year-old Italian painter Silvia Giannini (17 August 1907 – 22 August 1982) who had recently married Francesco Giannini, an employee of Monnet when he was a representative in Italy.……

Death and burial

On 16 March 1979, Jean Monnet died at the age of 90 in his home in Houjarray, Bazoches-sur-Guyonne. His funeral took place in the church of Montfort-l'Amaury on 20 March 1979, with French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt both present.

Honours

In 1953, Monnet was awarded the Karlspreis by the city of Aachen, Germany, in recognition of his achievements.

Memorialization

Public monuments

Public memorials to Monnet include:

Bronze busts in front of his birthplace in Cognac; at the entrance of the square Jean-Monnet in Montpellier; in Angers; inside the Peace Palace in The Hague;……

Places

Jean Monnet House at Houjarray

The Jean Monnet House is located in Houjarray, a hamlet of Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, Yvelines, 80 kilometres (50 miles) outside Paris.……