Robert Schuman

Robert Schuman (1886-1963), French statesman, born in Luxembourg, and educated in law at universities in Germany. Schuman was raised in Lorraine, then a German province, which was returned to France after World War I. He was first elected to the French Chamber of Deputies in 1919. During World War II, Schuman fought with the French Resistance. He was returned to the Chamber of Deputies after the war and became finance minister in 1946. He served as French premier for short periods of time in 1947 and 1948 and then became foreign minister. In 1950 he proposed the Schuman Plan to place coal and steel resources under the control of a supranational organization. The plan became the nucleus of the European Coal and Steel Community. See European Union.