Couve de Murville, Maurice Jacques

▪ 2000

      French government official and politician (b. Jan. 24, 1907, Reims, France—d. Dec. 24, 1999, Paris, France), was a loyal Gaullist who served the longest term as foreign minister (1958–68) in the county's history and earned the nickname “Monsieur Cool,” owing to his unflappable, professional demeanour. Couve de Murville, who studied law, literature, and political science, graduated at the top of his class from the École Libre des Sciences Politiques in Paris. At 23 he joined the Finance Ministry, and he remained in France to serve the Vichy government until 1943, when he fled to Algiers to join the Free French administration, which he served as commissioner of finance under Charles de Gaulle. After World War II Couve de Murville served as ambassador to Italy, Egypt, NATO, the United States, and West Germany. When de Gaulle rose to the presidency in 1958, he named Couve de Murville his foreign minister. During Couve de Murville's tenure in that office, France developed a cool relationship with traditional Western powers by preventing Great Britain from joining the Common Market, leaving NATO, and recognizing the People's Republic of China. He was elected deputy to the National Assembly in 1968, and after the 1968 student-worker riots, de Gaulle named him finance minister and then prime minister. Following de Gaulle's resignation in 1969, Couve de Murville served as caretaker of the government until the June election of Georges Pompidou. Later he was elected again to the National Assembly, where he held a seat from 1973 to 1986; from 1986 to 1995 he served in the Senate.

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