Miscellaneous - This Day That Age   

dated December 26, 1953: France Gets "Unknown" President

The man elected as France's new President after protracted election procedure, was an outsider. Senator Rene Coty, elected as President, was born on March, 20, 1882, at Le Havre. He first entered Parliament as a Deputy in 1923. A member of the Bar since 1902, he entered local politics in 1907. In 1908, he was elected as a Member of the Town Council. He worked as a volunteer in World War I, and won the Croix de Guerre for gallantry. Coty took active interest in Federalist movements, but spoke but rarely in the Senate. He worked silently as one of the constitutional experts of the Senate. He retired from politics during World War II, and became a member of the post-war Constituent Assembly. In 1947, he became Reconstruction Minister and remained so in three successive governments. Coty's two major hobbies were reading and listening to classical music. His lack of personal ambition was perhaps one of the factors which influenced his election, eliminating well-known names. Rene Coty made his state drive from Versailles to Paris on the 24th — Christmas Eve. "Don't get lost. We had a hard time finding the new President!" was one of the humorous remarks shouted as the ceremonial procession of new President Coty drove by.

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