1907 - 1982 PIERRE MENDES-FRANCE (France)
Lawyer and politician, he was descended from a well-known Sephardic family. He joined the Radical Socialist Party in 1927 and was elected to the National Assembly. He became Prime Minister in 1954, ending the war in Indo-China. He was replaced a year later and was soundly defeated by the Gaullists in 1968. Mendes was known as the "Roosevelt of France" for his "fireside chat" manner. He was a staunch supporter of Israel and the Zionist movement.
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