Jean Monnet

Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (November 9, 1888 – March 16, 1979) is regarded by many as the architect of European Unity. Never elected to public office, Monnet worked behind the scenes of American and European governments as a well-connected pragmatic internationalist.

World War I

In 1914, Monnet was excused from military duty for health reasons but he set to making himself useful in other ways, namely by tackling the looming problem of organizing supplies, which the Allies were unable to resolve and which could have compromised the outcome of the conflict. Monnet believed that the only path that would lead to an Allied victory lay in the merging of France and England's war efforts and he proposed a plan that would co-ordinate war resources. The French government agreed upon its implementation.

Related Topics:
Allies - England

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Due to his success in the war efforts, Monnet, at the age of thirty-one, was named Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations upon its creation in 1919 by French premier Clemenceau and British statesman Balfour.

Related Topics:
League of Nations - Clemenceau - Balfour

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Soon disillusioned with the League because of its laborious unanimous decision-making processes, Monnet resigned in 1923 in order to devote himself to managing the family business, which was experiencing difficulties.

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Later, as an international financier, he proved to be instrumental in the economic recovery of several Central and Eastern European nations, helping to stabilise the Polish zloty in 1927 and the Romanian leu in 1928. In 1929, his experience in international finance led him to found and co-manage the Bancamerica-Blair, a bank in San Francisco. From 1934 to 1936, at the invitation of Chiang Kai-shek, Monnet lived in China, assisting with the reorganization of the Chinese railway network.

Related Topics:
Central - Eastern Europe - Polish - Zloty - Romanian leu - San Francisco - Chiang Kai-shek - China

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