Alain Poher, French politician, President of France (d. 1996)
Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher (French: [alɛ̃ pɔɛʁ]; 17 April 1909 – 9 December 1996) was a French politician who briefly served as President of France twice, in 1969 and 1974. He held the office ad interim as President of the Senate following the resignation of Charles de Gaulle and death of Georges Pompidou. 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 long-time member the Senate (1946–1948; 1952–1995), where he sat first for Seine-et-Oise until 1959 and then Val-de-Marne. He also served as President of the European Parliament from 1966 to 1969. As President of the Senate from 1968 to 1992 and the sole unelected President of France under the Fifth Republic, Poher remains an influential figure of the politics of 20th-century France. A leading candidate in the 1969 presidential election, he was defeated by Pompidou in the second round.
1909Apr, 17
Alain Poher
Choose Another Date
Events on 1909
- 9Jan
Nimrod Expedition
Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, plants the British flag 97 nautical miles (180 km; 112 mi) from the South Pole, the farthest anyone had ever reached at that time. - 28Jan
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish-American War. - 22Feb
Great White Fleet
The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USS Connecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world. - 31Mar
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia accepts Austrian control over Bosnia and Herzegovina. - 27Apr
Abdul Hamid II
Sultan of Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V.