André Bettencourt

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André Bettencourt (born April 21, 1919, Saint-Maurice-d'Ételan, in Seine-Maritime) is a French politician. He has been awarded the Croix de Guerre, and is a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He served as a cabinet minister under Pierre Mendès-France and Charles de Gaulle, and was awarded for his bravery in the Resistance against the Nazis.

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[edit] Career

Bettencourt occupied several positions in the French government. In 1966-1967, he was the Minister of Transportation. In 1967-1968, he was interim Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1968, he was Minister of Posts and Telecommunications. In 1968-1969, he was the Minister of Industry. In 1969-1971, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1972-1973, he was the Minister of Cultural Affairs. In addition, he was the mayor of Saint-Maurice-d'Etelan from 1965 to 1989.

In his youth, Bettencourt was a member of La Cagoule, a violent French fascist-leaning and anti-communist group. Eugène Schueller provided financially support and held meetings for La Cagoule at the L'Oréal headquarters. In the 1990s, Jean Frydman turned up the fact that Bettencourt had written several articles for a Nazi propaganda organ during the World War II.

He was elected a member of the Académie des beaux-arts, one of the five academies of the Institut de France, as an unattached member on March 23, 1988.

[edit] Family

In 1950, Bettencourt married Liliane Bettencourt (née Schueller), daughter of Eugène Schueller, the founder of L'Oréal, the world's leading company in cosmetics and beauty products. Together, they have one daughter, Françoise Meyers, who is a member of L'Oréal's board of directors. Françoise Meyers is married to Jean-Pierre Meyers, who had lost both his parents in Auschwitz concentration camp.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Michael Bar-Zohar, Bitter Scent: The Case of L'Oréal, Nazis, and the Arab Boycott, Dutton Books, London, 1996, pp. 264.
Preceded by:
Yves Guéna		 Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
1968		 Succeeded by:
Yves Guéna
Preceded by:
Albin Chalandon		 Minister of Industry
1968–1969		 Succeeded by:
François-Xavier Ortoli
Preceded by:
Edmond Michelet		 interim Minister of Cultural Affairs
1970–1971		 Succeeded by:
Jacques Duhamel
Preceded by:
Maurice Schumann		 interim Minister of Foreign Affairs
1973		 Succeeded by:
Michel Jobert
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