Jules Jeanneney was born on 6 July 1864, in
Besançon. His mother died soon after his birth, leaving his father, an auctioneer, to raise the child. Jeanneney said that he felt that his mother's death affected him greatly in later life. He studied law at the
Sorbonne and practised as a lawyer. At the urging of
René Waldeck-Rousseau Jeanneney entered politics in 1897 when he was elected mayor of
Rioz. In 1902 he stood in the elections to the
Chamber of Deputies and was elected to represent
Haute-Saône. In 1909 he was elected to the
Senate where he supported the
Democratic Republican Alliance. He would remain a Senator until 1944. Jeanneney was elected vice-president in 1924, then he headed the important Finance committee until 1932 when he was elected
President of the Senate to replace
Albert Lebrun. As President of the Senate, Jeanneney led the debate on 10 July 1940 which resulted in the granting of extraordinary powers to Marshal
Philippe Pétain and the creation of the
Vichy Regime. Jeanneney accepted these results rather than seeking them and along with
Édouard Daladier protested at the use Pétain made of his powers. Jeanneney served as
Minister of State with responsibility for reforming the administration in
Charles de Gaulle's
Provisional Government from 1944 to 1945. He died in
Paris, on 27 April 1957, aged 92. after he died, a school was created at his name in rioz franche compté Jeanneney's son
Jean-Marcel Jeanneney and his grandson
Jean-Noël Jeanneney were active in French politics. ==Bibliography==