Marcel Sembat
Marcel Sembat (19 October 1862 – 5 September 1922) was a French Socialist politician.[1] He served as a member of the National Assembly of France from 1893 to 1922, and as Minister of Public Works from August 26, 1914 to December 12, 1916.[1]
Biography
Early life
Marcel Sembat was born on October 19, 1862 in Bonnières-sur-Seine, Seine-et-Oise, France.[1] He went to school in Mantes-la-Jolie, attended the Collège Stanislas in Paris and later received a PhD in Law.
Journalism
He started a career in journalism and co-founded the Revue de l'évolution.[1] From 1890 to 1897, he was the editor of La Petite République, created by Leon Gambetta. It was then that he became a Socialist.[1] He also wrote for La Revue socialiste, La Revue de l'enseignement primaire, Documents du Progrès, La Lanterne, Petit sou and Paris-Journal.[1] He later became an editor of L'Humanité.[1]
Politics
He served as member of the National Assembly of France from 1893 to 1922.[1] A socialist, he supported workers' rights during strikes.[1] He oversaw the construction of telephone cables from Brest, France to Dakar, Senegal.[1] He supported Algerians against French colonialists in French Algeria.[1] He was opposed to the presence of French Christian missionaries in China.[1]
He served as Minister of Public Works from 1914 to 1916, under Prime Ministers René Viviani and Aristide Briand.[1][2]
Personal life
On February 27, 1897, he married the Fauvist painter and sculptor Georgette Agutte.[1] He wrote a book about Henri Matisse.[1]
Death
He died of cerebral hemorrhage on September 5, 1922 in Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France.[1]
Legacy
- The station of the Paris Métro Marcel Sembat is named for him.
- The Lycée Marcel Sembat in Sotteville-lès-Rouen is named for him.[3]
Bibliography
- Leur Bilan, quatre ans de pouvoir Clemenceau-Briand (Paris, Librairie du Parti socialiste S.F.I.O., 1910)
- Faites un roi, sinon faites la paix (E. Figuière et Cie : Paris, 1911)
- Henri Matisse, trente reproductions de peintures et dessins, précédées d'une étude critique par Marcel Sembat, de notices biographiques et documentaires (Paris : Éditions de la Nouvelle revue française, 1920)
- La Victoire en déroute (prefaced by Léon Blum, Paris : Éditions du Progrès civique, 1925)