Hégésippe Légitimus

Hégésippe Jean Légitimus at the Palais Bourbon

Hégésippe Jean Légitimus (born April 8, 1868 in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, and died November 29, 1944 in Angles-sur-l'Anglin, France) was a socialist politician from Guadeloupe who served in the French National Assembly from 1898–1902 and from 1906-1914.[1][2]

Légitimus was the first black man elected to the French parliament since Jean-Baptiste Belley in 1793. Up until 1898 the colonies and territoires d'Outre-Mer had only been represented by white or mixed-race, or "béké" deputies.[3] Légitimus was followed shortly afterwards by other black deputies, Gratien Candace, Blaise Diagne, Ngalandou Diouf, Achille René-Boisneuf and Maurice Satineau. Légitimus was one of the founders of the Parti Ouvrier, the socialist party of Guadaloupe, which was politically aligned with that of mainland France.[4][5] He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1937.[6]

Hégésippe Légitimus in 1911

References

  1. ↑ Florent Girard Hégésippe Jean Légitimus: ou L'apôtre de l'émancipation des Nègres de la Guadeloupe Jasor, 2005
  2. ↑ Hégésippe Jean Légitimus on French National Assembly website Retrieved 13 June 2011
  3. ↑ Comptes rendus mensuels des séances de l'Académie des sciences Volume 8 Académie des sciences d'outre-mer, Académie des sciences coloniales (France) - 1948 "Légitimus, entrait au Palais-Bourbon suivi peu d'années après de MM. Candace, Diagne, Galandou Diouf, Boisneuf et Satineau. Jusqu'à cette année 1898, les colonies furent exclusivement représentées au Sénat comme à la Chambre des députés par des hommes de la race blanche ou de couleur. A l'heure actuelle, en 1948, cent ans après 1848, aux côtés des blancs et ..."
  4. ↑ Le Petit Futé - Guadeloupe 2010 Page 61 Jean-Paul Labourdette, Dominique Auzias "Diplômé du lycée Carnot, Hégésippe Jean Légitimus (1863-1944) est l'un des fondateurs du parti socialiste, aligné idéologiquement sur celui de la métropole. il devient rapidement le symbole d'une majorité, "
  5. ↑ Robert Stuart Marxism and national identity: socialism, nationalism, and National Socialism during the French Fin de Siècle. 2006 Page 100 "In the course of this mobilization, the charismatic (and black) leader of the Parti Ouvrier in Guadeloupe, Jean-Hégésippe Légitimus, became both the founder of Antillean socialism and one of the first and greatest champions of the islands' long-oppressed blacks."
  6. ↑ culture.gouv.fr : certificate of the legion of honour


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