Albert Thomas (minister)
Encyclopedia
Albert Thomas was a prominent French Socialist and the first Minister of Armament for the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...

 during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Following the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...

, he was nominated as the first Director General of the International Labour Office, a position he held until his death in 1932.

Early years

Albert Thomas was born at Champigny-sur-Marne
Champigny-sur-Marne
Champigny-sur-Marne is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Name:Champigny-sur-Marne was originally called simply Champigny...

 on 16 June 1878. In 1898 he entered the École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...

, where he studied history and won a travelling scholarship which enabled him to visit Russia. Other educational distinctions followed, including degrees in literature and history at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

. In 1904, Thomas was appointed to the editorial staff of L'Humanité
L'Humanité
L'Humanité , formerly the daily newspaper linked to the French Communist Party , was founded in 1904 by Jean Jaurès, a leader of the French Section of the Workers' International...

 and elected a municipal councillor for Champigny, where, eight years later he was elected Mayor. As a journalist, Thomas wrote for L'Information and the Revue socialist, founded the Revue syndicaliste, and subsequently launched L'Information ouvrière et sociale.

National politics and war

In 1910 Albert Thomas was elected member of the Chamber of Deputies for one of the constituencies of the Department of the Seine, and was re-elected in 1914. He became a member of the public works, railways, and finance committees of the Chamber, and was active in shaping legislative measures, notably those relating to conditions in mines, industrial and agricultural workers pensions, and pensions for miners.

When the First World War broke out, Thomas served in a territorial regiment for a few weeks, after which he was summoned to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, and placed in control of the railway services, acting as a link between the General Staff and the Ministry of Public Works. In October 1914 the Government gave him the task of organising factories with a view to the intensive production of munitions. In May 1915 he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Artillery and Munitions, becoming Minister of Munitions the following year. Thomas first became a member of the cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

 on 12 December 1915 when he was made the Sub-Minister of Artillery and Munitions under the Minister of War. Due in large part to the need for more shells for the Canon de 75 modèle 1897
Canon de 75 modèle 1897
The French 75mm field gun was a quick-firing field artillery piece adopted in March 1898. Its official French designation was: Matériel de 75mm Mle 1897. It was commonly known as the French 75, simply the 75 and Soixante-Quinze .The French 75 is widely regarded as the first modern artillery piece...

, he was promoted again on 12 Dec 1916 to became Minister of Armament. He answered only to the Prime Minister and subsequently President of the Republic, Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five separate occasions and as President of France from 1913 to 1920. Poincaré was a conservative leader primarily committed to political and social stability...

. Thomas was removed from the Ministry on 12 September 1917 by Louis Loucheur
Louis Loucheur
Louis Loucheur was a French politician in the Third Republic, at first a member of the conservative Republican Federation, then of the Democratic Republican Alliance and of the Independent Radicals.-Life:Coming from a background in the arms industry, Loucheur became Minister of Munitions in...

.

Peace and International Labour Office

Thomas was elected Deputy for the Tarn. In November 1919, during the inaugural Session of the International Labour Conference in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, (at which he was not present), the Governing Body of the ILO chose him to be the Director of the Office. From that moment, Albert Thomas gave himself up entirely to the work of the ILO.

Thomas gave the Organisation a strong impetus from the very beginning. In a few years he created, out of a small group of officials housed in a private residence in London, an international institution with a staff of 400 and a building of its own in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

. In the first two years, 16 international Labour Conventions and 18 Recommendations had been adopted. From 1920 onwards, the ILO launched an ambitious programme of publications, which included the Official Bulletin, the monthly International Labour Review and various other periodicals and newspapers. As Director, Thomas took personal interest in recruiting an international team to form the Secretariat of the Organisation. Thomas' leadership helped to establish the image of the ILO as one of boundless enthusiasm and explosive energy.

Opposition between national governments, organised labour and employer representative bodies soon began to develop, and the optimism that had prevailed immediately following the end of the war gave way to doubt and pessimism. Some members sought to restrict the powers and activities of the Organisation. Firstly, it was felt that the Conference had gone too far and too quickly in the output of Conventions and Recommendations. National governments and parliaments could not or would not keep up. Thomas, noting the disappointing number of ratifications reached the conclusion that over-production of Conventions and Recommendations should stop.

The publications programme of the Office became a target for criticism, namely that its research was not objective and impartial. At the same time, efforts were being made to restrict the competence of the ILO. In 1921, the French government took the position that the ILO was not competent to deal with agricultural matters and the Permanent Court of International Justice
Permanent Court of International Justice
The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1922 , the Court was initially met with a good reaction from states and academics alike, with many cases submitted to it for its first decade of...

 was requested to give an advisory opinion on the question. The Court found that the competence of the ILO did extend to international regulation of the conditions of labour of persons in agriculture, rejecting a restrictive interpretation of the Constitution. Other attempts to induce the Court to restrict the scope of action of the ILO also failed in 1922 and 1926.

Another serious difficulty emerged over the financing of the Organisation. Under the Constitution, the ILO was dependent on the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

 for its financing, but in all matters of general policy the Constitution provided the ILO for absolute independence. In 1923, a group of governments worked in the Governing Body to reduce the ILO's budget to approximately US $1,400,000 - which became established as a standard level for the ILO.

The restriction of the budget made stabilization and consolidation of ILO programmes and activities necessary. This, in turn, had positive spillover effects. Between 1922 and 1931, the Conference continued to meet each year but only adopted 15 Conventions and 21 Recommendations. The limitation of the standard-setting work of the ILO allowed national governments to devote adequate attention to applying the provisions of the international agreements in national laws and regulations. More and more countries ratified ILO Conventions and ILO standards began to exercise an effective influence in the improvements of conditions of life and work. In 1926, an important innovation was introduced when the International Labour Conference set up a supervisory system on the application of its standards, which still exists today. It created the Committee of Experts composed of independent jurists responsible for examining government reports and presenting its own report each year to the Conference.

The stabilization of the ILO's basic programmes in no sense implied stagnation. As Director, Thomas continued to inspire his staff to take advantage of every opportunity to promote the objectives of the ILO. He was a great believer in the "policy of presence", and he spent a good deal of time travelling in order to seek support for the objectives and functions of the Organisation. He visited all the European countries, as well as countries in North and South America, China and Japan. In 1932, after having assured the ILO's strong presence in the world for thirteen years, Albert Thomas suddenly died at the age of fifty-four.

Sources

  • Pierre Renouvin
    Pierre Renouvin
    Pierre Renouvin was a French diplomatic historian. Renouvin was born in Paris and attended the Lycée-Louis-le-Grand, where he was rewarded his aggrégation in 1912. Renouvin spent the years 1912-1914 travelling in Germany and Russia...

    . "Les formes du Gouvernement de Guerre." Les Presses universitaires de France, Paris 1925.
  • International Labour Organization Website
  • Edward J. Phelan
    Edward J. Phelan
    Edward Joseph Phelan , frequently E. J. Phelan, was the first appointed international civil servant and fourth Director-General of the International Labour Office, serving from 1941 to 1948, during most of which time the ILO was temporarily relocated to Montréal from Geneva...

     Yes and Albert Thomas 1936

External links

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