author
Aristide Briand
1862–1932
A towering figure in French politics, he served as prime minister again and again while trying to steer Europe away from conflict. Remembered for his role in the 1905 separation of church and state and for championing peace after World War I, he shared the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.
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About the author
Born in Nantes in 1862, Aristide Briand began his public life on the left, working as a journalist and lawyer before rising in national politics. He became one of the most influential leaders of the French Third Republic, holding a remarkable number of cabinet posts and serving eleven times as prime minister.
Briand is closely linked with two major themes in modern French history: secular government and international diplomacy. Early in his career, he helped guide the law separating church and state in 1905. After World War I, he turned much of his energy toward reconciliation in Europe, especially between France and Germany.
His work on the Locarno agreements and broader efforts through the League of Nations made him an international symbol of peacemaking, and in 1926 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Gustav Stresemann. Though the peace he hoped for did not last, Briand remains one of the most important French statesmen of his era.