Nancy, 1854 - Thorey, Meurthe-et-Moselle, 1934.)
-
- Lyautey
Marshal of France. Coming from a family of soldiers from Lorraine, the young Lyautey maintained the tradition by entering Saint-Cyr in 1873 then at the staff application school two years later, before serving in 1877 in the cavalry, his weapon of choice. .
The necessities of the service, however, forced him to earn his ranks in Algeria, Tonkin and then Madagascar, where Gallieni appreciated the qualities of this squadron leader who seconded him as chief of staff.
Colonel in 1900, brigadier general in 1903, divisional in 1907, Lyautey operated in southern Algeria and then on the borders of Morocco, where he distinguished himself by his humanity and his great respect for indigenous traditions.
After leading the loe corps in Rennes, the general was appointed to govern, in 1912, the new protectorate of Morocco*. By his uprightness, his great experience of North African traditions, his brilliant intelligence, his communicative warmth, the Resident General won the esteem of the Sultan and his entourage, helping to pacify the country despite German intrigues and developing the economy of 'a still feudal territory.
The mysteries of Parisian political life seemed to him too disloyal for him to extend beyond the month of April 1917 the post of Minister of War proposed by Aristide Briand the previous December.
The marshal's baton in 1921 rewards a solid work to which Lyautey has put so much heart.
Some, moreover, take umbrage at this sort of proconsulate. Also the victory of the cartel of the left, in 1924, marks the beginning of a disgrace which will precipitate, the following year, the revolt of Abd el-krim.
The Marshal will therefore devote all his efforts to perpetuating France's educational vocation in the colonies, the success of the 1931 exhibition, in the Bois de Vincennes, representing for him the crowning achievement of a career which was above all an apostolate.
A member of the French Academy since - 1912, the Marshal stood out, between 1891 and 1900, for his writings on the social role of the officer and his educational mission in the overseas territories.
Following Morocco's accession to independence, the Marshal's body was brought back from Rabat to Paris and deposited at the Invalides alongside the other great servants of France