Doumer, Paul

Born in Aurillac (department of Cantal ). By education, Dumer was a mathematician, by vocation, a financier; he taught mathematics in the provinces until the age of 28, then made a quick career as a journalist in Paris and took up politics. The first mandate of the deputy, Paul Dumer, was received in 1889 , and the portfolio of the Minister of Finance was already in 1895 , at 38 years old.

1897 - 1902, Doumer held the post of Governor-General of French Indochina ; he was an enthusiast in the construction of railways in Southeast Asia, in Hanoi his name is the reinforced concrete bridge built with him. In 1906, after the expiration of the powers of Emile Loubet , he first put forward his candidacy for the presidency of the republic, but was defeated by Arman Fallier . In 1912 he was elected from Corsica to the French Senate . On the fronts of World War I, Senator Dumer lost 4 sons. In memory of them, Doumer devoted a political treatise-testament, "The Book of My Sons." After the death of Doumer, a Russian translation of this book was published in Paris.

In 1921 - 1922, Dumer again headed the Ministry of Finance and developed a balanced budget. Then for five years he was the chairman of the budget committee (and once again the Minister of Finance), and in 1927 - 1931 the chairman of the Senate.

In the presidential election of 1931, the chairman of the Senate Doumer was opposed by an outstanding politician, repeated Prime Minister Aristide Briand ; however, Briand had quite a few opponents among the parliamentarians, while the politically neutral, personally honest and stable in his career, Dumer was a candidate that suited everyone. The tragic fate of his family also played a role.

The 74-year-old Doumer was one of the oldest presidents of France at the time of taking office (he was only 53 days less than Adolphe Thiers ) and the largest president of France (he had 8 children).

The presidential term of Dumer lasted a week without a year and was interrupted by his death at the hands of the killer. On May 6, 1932, a Russian emigrant, a Cossack, the author of a collection of poems and the “founder of the fascist green party” Pavel Timofeevich Gorgulov , having an invitation card in the name of “veteran writer Paul Brède” (his literary pseudonym), went to the book fair of veterans , which was opened by the president of the republic, and shot him several times with a Browning M1910 pistol. Two bullets hit the president: one at the base of the skull, leaving behind the ear, and the other at the right shoulder blade. The unconscious Doumer was taken to the hospital, where during the operation he came to his senses and asked: “What happened to me?” They answered him: “You had a car accident”. “Wow, I didn’t notice anything!” Said Doumer, again fell into oblivion and died at 4 a.m. on May 7 .

The Doomer was given a solemn funeral with a memorial service at Notre Dame de Paris . The government proposed burying Doomer in the Pantheon , as well as President Sadi Carnot , who was killed in 1894, but the widow of the head of state did not want this; Doumer’s coffin was brought under the canopy of the Pantheon, but then buried in a family crypt in the Vaugirard cemetery .

The Russian emigration, seeking to show appreciation to France and to dissociate itself from Gorgulov, honored the memory of Dumer. A requiem for him was served by Metropolitan Eulogius (St. George) in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Ryu Darya; Representatives of the Russian Military Union and other emigrant military organizations participated in the memorial service. The solemn mass on the day of Doumer’s funeral was attended by the head of the EMRO, General E.K.