Alain Poher

Alain Poher
Poher in 1969
President of France
Acting
In office
2 April 1974 – 27 May 1974
Prime MinisterPierre Messmer
Preceded byGeorges Pompidou
Succeeded byValéry Giscard d'Estaing
In office
28 April 1969 – 20 June 1969
Prime MinisterMaurice Couve de Murville
Preceded byCharles de Gaulle
Succeeded byGeorges Pompidou
President of the Senate
In office
3 October 1968 – 1 October 1992
Preceded byGaston Monnerville
Succeeded byRené Monory
President of the European Parliament
In office
7 March 1966 – 11 March 1969
Preceded byVictor Leemans
Succeeded byMario Scelba
Senator
In office
18 May 1952 – 1 October 1995
ConstituencySeine-et-Oise (1952–1968)
Val-de-Marne (1968–1995)
In office
8 December 1946 – 7 November 1948
ConstituencySeine-et-Oise
Mayor of Ablon-sur-Seine
In office
18 May 1945 – March 1983
Preceded byÉdouard Désiré Juvigny
Succeeded byJean-Pierre Hermellin
Personal details
Born
Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher

(1909-04-17)17 April 1909
Ablon-sur-Seine, France
Died9 December 1996(1996-12-09) (aged 87)
16th arrondissement of Paris, France
Political partyPopular Republican Movement (1946–1966)
Democratic Centre (1966–1976)
Centre of Social Democrats (1976–1995)
Democratic Force (1995–1996)
Other political
affiliations
Union for French Democracy (1978–1996)
SpouseHenriette Tugler
Children2
Alma materMines ParisTech
Sciences Po
OccupationEngineer, civil servant
Signature

Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher (French: [alɛ̃ pɔɛʁ]; 17 April 1909 – 9 December 1996) was a French politician who served as President of the Senate from 1968 to 1992. Under this capacity, he was twice briefly acting President of France, in 1969 and 1974 following the resignation of Charles de Gaulle and the death of Georges Pompidou respectively. Poher was affiliated with the Popular Republican Movement (MRP) until 1966 and later with the Democratic Centre (CD) and Centre of Social Democrats (CSD), which he joined in 1976.

A native of Ablon-sur-Seine south of Paris, Poher was a longtime member of the Senate (1946–1948; 1952–1995), where he sat first for Seine-et-Oise until 1968 and then Val-de-Marne. He also served as President of the European Parliament from 1966 to 1969. As the longest-serving President of the Senate and the sole unelected President of France under the Fifth Republic, Poher remained an influential figure in 20th-century French politics. He ran in the 1969 presidential election, but was defeated by Pompidou in the second round.

Poher died at the age of 87 in December 1996, a year after his retirement from the Senate.[1]

  1. ^ Johnson, Douglas. "Obituary: Alain Poher". Independent. Retrieved 21 December 2023.