Rene Mayer, son of a former Chief Rabbi of Paris and a descendant of the famous Rothschild family, was today confirmed as the new Premier of France by the National Assembly. The vote of 389 to 205, which ended the 15-day French government crisis, came after a session which lasted until 3 A.M.
Mr. Mayer, who served as Finance Minister in 1948, is a financial expert and leader of the Radical Socialist Party, a conservative group. M. Mayer once before was asked to become Premier – in October 1949. Although he obtained the National Assembly’s approval at that time, he was unable to complete a Cabinet and was obliged to resign.
Born in 1895, M. Mayer distinguished himself in World I and received a number of decorations for bravery. In 1937 he was charged with the reorganization of the railroad companies in France. During World War II he was sent to London as head of the Ministry of Munitions and director of the Inter-Allied Executive Committee for Munitions and Raw Materials. In 1943 he served as Secretary of Communications in the provisional government set up by General Henry Giraud.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
