Jean Monnet, French economist and politician (b. 1888)
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (French: [ʒɑ̃ mɔnɛ]; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, administrator, and political visionary. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union.
Jean Monnet has been called "The Father of Europe" by those who see his innovative and pioneering efforts in the 1950s as the key to establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, the predecessor of today's European Union. Although Monnet was never elected to public office, he worked behind the scenes of American and European governments as a well-connected "pragmatic internationalist".He was the first-ever individual to be bestowed Honorary Citizenship of Europe in 1976. On the hundredth anniversary of his birth in 1988 he was honoured by interment in the Panthéon.
1979Mar, 16
Jean Monnet
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Events on 1979
- 1Feb
Ruhollah Khomeini
Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile. - 11Feb
Ruhollah Khomeini
The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. - 16Mar
People's Liberation Army
Sino-Vietnamese War: The People's Liberation Army crosses the border back into China, ends the war. - 15Jul
Malaise speech
U.S. President Jimmy Carter gives his "malaise speech". - 16Dec
OPEC
Libya joins four other OPEC nations in raising crude oil prices, which has an immediate, dramatic effect on the United States.