Michel Jean Pierre Debré

Michel Jean Pierre Debré (1912-1996), French politician and first premier of the Fifth Republic. Born in Paris, Debré earned a degree in law and served in the council of state under the Third Republic. During World War II (1939-1945), he worked with the French underground in Morocco and France and in 1944 met General Charles de Gaulle. He wrote several works on the need for reforming the governmental system. After the war he was a senator under the Fourth Republic. When de Gaulle came to power in 1958, Debré became his minister of justice and helped draft the constitution of the Fifth Republic, which greatly strengthened the presidency and weakened parliament. Debré served as premier until 1962; he resigned following the Évian agreements ending the Algerian war (see Algerian War of Independence). Debré returned to the government in 1965, serving as minister of economy and finance until the general strike and student uprising of 1968. After the election of George Pompidou as president in 1969, Debré became minister of defense; he resigned from that office in 1973.