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71-464: Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet ( French: [ʒɑ̃ mɔnɛ] ; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, and administrator. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union . Jean Monnet has been called "The Father of Europe" by those who see his innovative and pioneering efforts in

142-477: A "purer" flavour. Hundreds of vineyards in the Cognac AOC region sell their own cognac. These are likewise blended from the eaux de vie of different years, but they are single-vineyard cognacs, varying slightly from year to year and according to the taste of the producer, hence lacking some of the predictability of the better-known commercial products. Depending on their success in marketing, small producers may sell

213-477: A $ 2.8 billion debt (mostly World War I loans) and provided the country with an additional low-interest loan of $ 650 million. In return, France opened its cinemas to American movies. Faced with the challenge of reconstruction after WWII, in 1946 France implemented the Modernization and Re-equipment Plan, which was designed to spur economic recovery. This plan is commonly known as the “Monnet Plan” after Jean Monnet,

284-789: A common etymology . Close to 200 cognac producers exist. According to one 2008 estimate a large percentage of cognac—more than 90% for the US market—comes from only four producers: Courvoisier (owned by the Campari Group ), Hennessy ( LVMH ), Martell ( Pernod Ricard ), and Rémy Martin ( Rémy Cointreau ). Other brands meeting the AOC criteria for cognac include Bache-Gabrielsen/Dupuy , Braastad , Camus , La Fontaine de La Pouyade , Château Fontpinot, Delamain , Pierre Ferrand, Frapin , Gautier , Hine , Marcel Ragnaud, Monnet , Moyet , Otard , Meukow , and Cognac Croizet . In 2017, an agreement between

355-634: A first encounter in London during the Battle of France in mid-June 1940 until De Gaulle's death in November 1970. Monnet and De Gaulle have been referred to together as "probably the two most outstanding Frenchmen of the 20th century". Jean Monnet was the first-ever individual to be designated as an Honorary Citizen of Europe in 1976. On the hundredth anniversary of his birth in 1988, his native country of France honoured Monnet's memory by transferring his mortal remains to

426-763: A high school in Taiwan , dedicated in 1985 to honor Monnet's contribution to the Republic of China and especially to the creation of the China Development Finance Corporation ; and the Jean Monnet High School in Bucharest , Romania . The University of Limerick , Ireland, has a lecture theatre named after Monnet. Founding fathers of the European Union Some sources list only a subset of

497-550: A larger or smaller proportion of their product to individual buyers, wine dealers, bars and restaurants, the remainder being acquired by larger cognac houses for blending. According to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), the official quality grades of cognac are: Most names of the grades are in English because the historical cognac trade, particularly in the 18th century, significantly involved

568-454: A master taster ( maître de chai ), who is responsible for blending the spirits, so that cognac produced by a company will have a consistent house style and quality. In this respect, it is similar to the process of blending whisky or non-vintage Champagne to achieve a consistent brand flavor. A very small number of producers, such as Guillon Painturaud and Moyet , do not blend their final product from different ages of eaux de vie , so produce

639-652: A reason for not hurrying to convene the Ministers of Foreign Affairs ... Memoirs, 1978 In 1955, Monnet founded the Action Committee for the United States of Europe in order to revive European construction following the failure of the European Defence Community (EDC). It brought political parties and European trade unions together to become a driving force behind the initiatives which laid the foundation for

710-587: A single people and if the two nations were not completely and profoundly aware of their unity." Winston Churchill  supported the union as did Charles de Gaulle and the French prime minister, Paul Reynaud , but the French cabinet was opposed and France instead pursued an armistice with Germany. Following the failure of the France-UK union attempt, Monnet hosted De Gaulle for a dinner at his London home on 17 June 1940, during which De Gaulle first articulated and tested

781-504: A united continent; Victor Hugo (1802–1885) who made a speech where he called for United States of Europe in 1849 at the International Peace Congress of Paris; Milan Hodža (1878–1944) who was famous for his attempts to establish a democratic federation of Central European states (book: Federation in central Europe, reflections and reminiscences ); Jacques Delors (1925–2023), who was a successful Commission President in

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852-656: A year. While in Washington, Monnet and his family lived in a comfortable house built in 1934 at 2415 Foxhall Road NW, which was later home to Adlai Stevenson III and James Baker . He worked from an office of the British Mission at the Willard Hotel . On 5 June 1943, Monnet became one of the first seven members of the French Committee of National Liberation ( French : Comité français de Libération nationale , CFLN),

923-433: Is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France . It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime . Cognac production falls under French appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) designation, with production methods and naming required to meet certain legal requirements. Among the specified grapes, Ugni blanc , known locally as Saint-Émilion,

994-418: Is also called eau de vie . It is produced by twice distilling wine made from grapes grown in any of the designated growing regions. The white wine used in making cognac is very dry, acidic, and thin. Though it has been characterised as "virtually undrinkable", it is excellent for distillation and aging. It may be made only from a strict list of grape varieties. For it to be considered a true cru cognac,

1065-411: Is also used as a flavoring in foods. Pastry dishes often pair cognac with flavors such as apple , raisin , prune , vanilla , and chocolate . "The Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) is a French organization that oversees the production, promotion, and protection of Cognac. The BNIC's primary responsibilities include setting and enforcing the standards for Cognac production, ensuring

1136-447: Is more volatile). This phenomenon is called locally la part des anges , or "the angels' share". When more than ten years pass in the oak barrel, the cognac's alcohol content decreases to 40% in volume. The cognac is then transferred to "large glass bottles called bonbonnes", then stored for future "blending." Since oak barrels stop contributing to flavor after four or five decades, longer aging periods may not be beneficial. The age of

1207-409: Is most widely used. The brandy must be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in French oak barrels from Limousin or Tronçais . Cognac matures in the same way as whiskies and wines barrel-age, and most cognacs spend considerably longer "on the wood" than the minimum legal requirement. Cognac is a type of brandy, and after the distillation and during the aging process,

1278-665: The European Monetary System (1979), and a directly elected European Parliament (1979). This process reflected Monnet's belief in a gradualist approach for constructing European unity. Monnet resigned and ended the Committee's activity on 9 May 1975, the 25th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. Writing about his life and the principles which drove his action was a longstanding project which Monnet delayed for years as he gave higher priority to his other projects. In

1349-597: The League of Nations by French premier Georges Clemenceau and British statesman Arthur Balfour , upon the League's creation in 1919 and after Élie Halévy had declined to take the position, which was reserved for a French national. Monnet left the League of Nations at the end of 1922. He says "I certainly did not leave out of disenchantment with the League's weakness" and he believed "a great deal more could usefully be done." However, he felt it necessary to devote himself to managing

1420-736: The Panthéon in Paris . Monnet was born in Cognac , a commune in the department of Charente in France, into a family of cognac merchants. According to Jacques-René Rabier, the values of laicism and republicanism, as well as a strong Catholic tradition, co-existed in Monnet's family. His father, Jacques-Gabriel Monnet, had taken control of a mid-sized distiller and distributor of cognac and had it renamed in 1901 as J.-G. Monnet & Cie . His mother, née Marie Demelle,

1491-542: The Rockefeller family in the United States. He was considered among the most connected persons of his time. In September 1939, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier sent Monnet to London to coordinate the organization of Franco-British war supplies. Shortly after the invasion of France in May 1940, Monnet advocated for a Franco-British union because he believed victory was impossible if “the two countries did not act and fight as

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1562-586: The United States , Scandinavia and Russia , for the family business, as well as Egypt for health reasons. Monnet firmly believed that the only path to an Allied victory lay in combining the war efforts of Britain and France, and he reflected on a concept that would coordinate war resources. In 1914, a friend of the family, Fernand Benon, arranged for young Monnet to meet French Premier René Viviani in Bordeaux to talk about this issue; Monnet managed to convince

1633-457: The cognac family business, Monnet Cognac , which was experiencing difficulties. In 1925, Monnet moved to America to accept a partnership in Blair & Co., a New York bank which merged with Bank of America in 1929, forming Bancamerica-Blair Corporation which was owned by Transamerica Corporation . He returned to international politics and, as an international financier, proved to be instrumental to

1704-599: The 11 men as founding fathers. The Council of Europe lists 6 founding fathers as builders of Europe , including the Briton Ernest Bevin . The media outlet Deutsche Welle presented a different constellation, it listed Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi , Winston Churchill , Robert Schuman , Jean Monnet and Paul-Henri Spaak as the 5 founding fathers of the EU . Other sources have emphasized Konrad Adenauer of Germany, Alcide De Gasperi of Italy and Robert Schuman of France as

1775-495: The 1950s as the key to establishing the European Coal and Steel Community , the predecessor of today's European Union. Although Monnet was never elected to public office, he worked behind the scenes of American and European governments as a well-connected "pragmatic internationalist". For three decades, Jean Monnet and Charles de Gaulle had a multifaceted relationship, at some times cooperative and at other times distrustful, from

1846-454: The 1980s and 90s; Lorenzo Natali (1922–1989); Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1920–2016); Mário Soares (1924–2017), Portuguese Prime Minister at the time Portugal acceded the EC and also a 'founding father of democratic Portugal'; and Pierre Werner (1913–2002) a Prime Minister of Luxembourg . Some have considered American Secretary of State George C. Marshall as an influential force in developing

1917-499: The British. Cognac is also classified by crus , tightly defined geographic denominations where the grapes are grown. Their distinctive soils and microclimates produce eaux de vie with characteristics particular to their specific location. The cognac-producing regions called Champagne should not be confused with the northeastern region of Champagne , a wine region that produces sparkling wine by that name , although they do share

1988-477: The European Union and Armenia was signed, whereby Armenian producers will abandon the usage of the protected geographic name "cognac" from 2043. The name "cognac" will be prohibited for the domestic Armenian market from 2032. Cocktails marked with "IBA" are designated as IBA official cocktails by the International Bartenders Association . In addition to being drunk as a beverage, cognac

2059-757: The European Union as it eventually emerged: first, the European Economic Community (EEC) (1958) (known commonly as the "Common Market"), which was established by the Treaty of Rome of 1957; later the European Communities (1967) with its corresponding bodies, the European Commission and the European Council of Ministers, British membership of the Communities (1973), the European Council (1974),

2130-577: The European Union. His namesake plan to rebuild Europe in the wake of World War II contributed more than $ 100 billion in today's dollars to the Europeans, helping to feed Europeans, deliver steel to rebuild industries, provide coal to warm homes, and construct dams to help provide power. In doing so, the Marshall Plan encouraged the integration of European powers into the European Coal and Steel Community,

2201-481: The French as a movement under British protection and inspired by British interests. In a letter to de Gaulle on June 23, Monnet said he had made these concerns known to British Foreign Office officials Alexander Cadogan and Robert Vansittart , as well as Churchill’s envoy Edward Spears . Monnet would later play a critical role in the consolidation of De Gaulle's position as France's leader, in Algiers in 1943. As France

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2272-534: The French government to agree with him, in principle. However, during the first two years of the war, Monnet did not have much success pressing for a better organization of the allied economic cooperation. It was not until two years later that stronger combined efforts like the Wheat Executive (end of 1916) and the Allied Maritime Transport Council (end of 1917) were set into motion, adding to

2343-690: The French government-in-exile co-chaired by De Gaulle and Henri Giraud and stationed in Algiers , as Commissaire à l'Armement (Minister of Armaments). During a meeting on 5 August of that year, Monnet declared to the Committee: "There will be no peace in Europe if the States are reconstituted on the basis of national sovereignty, with all that that entails in terms of prestige politics and economic protectionism. The countries of Europe are too small to guarantee their peoples

2414-708: The Moscow marriage came from Dr. Ludwik Rajchman , whom Monnet had met during his time at the League of Nations (Rajchman was connected to the Soviet Ambassador to China, Dmitrij Bogomołow). It seems that the American and French ambassadors in Moscow, William Bullitt and Charles Alphand, also played a role. The custody of Anna was a problem; in 1935 Silvia took refuge with Anna in the Soviet consulate in Shanghai , where they were living at

2485-596: The Order of the Companions of Honour . He was the first to be bestowed Honorary Citizen of Europe by the European Council of the European Union, for extraordinary work to promote European cooperation on 2 April 1976, he remained the only one for a generation until Helmut Kohl received the same distinction in 1998. Following this, he became the first person then living to be pictured on a Federal Republic of Germany stamp who

2556-564: The President to launch a massive arms production program, both as an economic stimulus and to supply the Allies with military resources. Unlike De Gaulle, Monnet was popular with the Americans and the English. A co-worker of his claimed that sometimes he would help Churchill to write a message to Roosevelt and then subsequently help Roosevelt to compose the response. According to Edward R. Kantowicz, Monnet

2627-516: The agreement of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of West Germany , French Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Schuman made a declaration in the name of the French government. This landmark pronouncement, prepared by Monnet for Schuman and known as the Schuman Declaration , proposed integration of the French and German coal and steel industries under joint control of a High Authority , open to the other countries of Europe. Schuman declared: Through

2698-634: The chief advocate and first head of the General Planning Commission (Le Commissariat général du Plan). The Monnet Plan emphasized expansion, modernization, efficiency, and modern management practice. Its process – focusing, prioritizing, and pointing the way – has been called “indicative planning” to differentiate it from highly directive and rigid Soviet style planning. The Plan’s initial objectives included exceeding France’s 1929 production level by 25% in 1950, which implied an ambitious 11% annual growth rate over five years. Although not all of

2769-399: The cognac is calculated as that of the youngest component used in the blend. The blend is usually of different ages and (in the case of the larger and more commercial producers) from different local areas. This blending, or marriage , of different eaux de vie is important to obtain a complexity of flavours absent from an eau de vie from a single distillery or vineyard. Each cognac house has

2840-466: The consolidation of basic production and the institution of a new High Authority, whose decisions will bind France, Germany and the other countries that join, this proposal represents the first concrete step towards a European federation, imperative for the preservation of peace. The date of the Schuman Declaration, 9 May, has been adopted as Europe Day by the European Union . It is generally viewed as

2911-493: The dissemination of the ideas of a federal Europe of Ventotene Manifesto , their role remains largely unacknowledged. A clause of equality between men and women has been introduced in the Treaty of Rome for economic reasons because of concerns of dumping by countries that used low paid women labour. In a new publication from 2021, the European Union listed 21 people labelled EU pioneers , in which 8 women names have been added to

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2982-512: The early 1970s, François Fontaine was instrumental in bringing the endeavor to fruition and drafted much of the text, even as Monnet retained ultimate control. The Memoirs were published by Fayard in 1976, and an English translation by Richard Mayne by Doubleday in 1978. In August 1929, during a dinner party in Paris, the 41-year-old Monnet met 22-year-old Italian painter Silvia Giannini (17 August 1907 – 22 August 1982) who had recently married Francisco Giannini, an employee of Monnet when he

3053-752: The economic recovery of several Central and Eastern Europe nations. He helped stabilise the Polish zloty in 1927 and the Romanian leu in 1928. In November 1932, the Chinese Minister of Finance invited Jean Monnet to act as chairman of an east–west non-political committee in China for the development of the Chinese economy where he lived (with a six-month interruption) until early 1936. During his time in China, Monnet's task of partnering Chinese capital with foreign companies led to

3124-599: The first President of the High Authority . Schuman later served as President of the European Parliament and became notable for advancing European integration . Following its creation, the Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community . Although not all the people who signed the treaty are known as founding fathers, a number are, such as Paul-Henri Spaak (1899–1972), who also worked on

3195-870: The formal inauguration of the China Development Finance Corporation (CDFC) as well as the reorganization of the Chinese railroads. In 1935, when Monnet was still in Shanghai, he became a business partner of George Murnane (a former colleague of Monnet at Transamerica) in Monnet, Murnane & Co. Murnane was connected to the Wallenberg family in Sweden, the Bosch family in Germany, the Solvays and Boëls in Belgium, and John Foster Dulles , André Meyer , and

3266-527: The foundation for the 1958 establishment of the European Economic Community , the forerunner of the European Union . Following World War II , when tensions between France and Germany rose over the control of the then vital coal and steel industries, Monnet proposed replacing the International Authority for the Ruhr with an agreement to pool French and German coal and steel industries. On 9 May 1950, with

3337-454: The founding fathers from the three pioneers countries of the European unification. The European Union listed 11 people as its founding fathers in a publication from 2013. These are: Other sources discuss fewer names. Commentators have pointed out that the founding fathers were all men. Ada Rossi  [ it ] and Ursula Hirschmann among other women, played a central role in

3408-463: The goals were met, the Plan has been credited with providing direction, vision, and hope to the nation, and it set France on the road to an economic miracle in the 1950s. The Monnet Plan created the impetus for French foreign minister Robert Schuman’s proposal to pool the French and German markets for coal and steel. The Schuman Plan led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community , which laid

3479-443: The grapes are pressed , the juice is left to ferment for 2–3 weeks, with the region's native wild yeast converting the fruit sugars into alcohol ; neither sugar nor sulphur may be added. At this point, the resulting wine is about 7 to 8% alcohol. Distillation takes place in traditionally shaped Charentais copper alembic stills , the design and dimensions of which are also legally controlled. Two distillations must be carried out;

3550-504: The hundredth anniversary of his birth, his ashes were transferred to the Panthéon in Paris in a ceremony attended by numerous European heads of states and governments. In 1953 Monnet was awarded the Karlspreis by the city of Aachen in recognition of his achievements. He received numerous other prizes and honorary degrees , including Doctor Honoris Causa from the universities of Cambridge (8 June 1961), Dartmouth (11 June 1961), Yale (12 June 1961), and Oxford (26 June 1963). He

3621-461: The list of the 11 founding fathers. Those who were added to the list of EU pioneers , including the 8 women, are: Count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894–1972) published the Paneuropa manifesto in 1923 which set up the movement of that name. At the start of the 1950s Robert Schuman (1886–1963), based on a plan by Jean Monnet (1888–1979), called for a European Coal and Steel Community in his " Schuman declaration ". Monnet went on to become

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3692-425: The overall war effort. At the Paris Peace Conference , Monnet was an assistant to the French minister of commerce and industry, Étienne Clémentel , who proposed a "new economic order" based on European cooperation. The scheme was officially rejected by the Allies in April 1919. Due to his experience organizing inter-Allied committees during the war, Monnet was asked to take on the job of Deputy Secretary-General of

3763-614: The precursor to present-day European Union, by illustrating the effects of economic integration and the need for coordination. The potency of the Marshall Plan caused former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt to remark in 1997 that "America should not forget that the development of the European Union is one of its greatest achievements. Without the Marshall Plan it perhaps would never have come to that." Cognac Cognac ( / ˈ k ɒ n . j æ k / KON -yak , also US : / ˈ k oʊ n -, ˈ k ɔː n -/ KOHN -, KAWN - , French: [kɔɲak] )

3834-401: The prosperity that modern conditions make possible and consequently necessary. Prosperity for the States of Europe and the social developments that must go with it will only be possible if they form a federation or a "European entity" that makes them into a common economic unit.” In 1946, Monnet successfully negotiated the Blum–Byrnes agreement with the United States, which cleared France from

3905-457: The resulting eau de vie is a colourless spirit of about 70% alcohol. Once distillation is complete, it must be aged in Limousin oak casks for at least two years before it can be sold to the public. It is typically put into casks at an alcohol by volume strength around 70%. As the cognac interacts with the oak barrel and the air, it evaporates at the rate of about 3% each year, slowly losing both alcohol and water (the former more rapidly, as it

3976-421: The starting point of development of the Union and its institutions. Negotiations on the Schuman plan led to the Treaty of Paris (1951) , which established the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). France and West Germany signed the treaty, alongside Italy , Belgium , Luxembourg and the Netherlands . In 1952, Jean Monnet became the first president of the ECSC's High Authority. The Paris apartment which

4047-451: The themes of the historic appeal he would pronounced on radio the next day. Following the Armistice of 22 June 1940 , Monnet disagreed with De Gaulle's claim that he alone represented fighting France. He would have preferred that de Gaulle work with others who were supporters, at that time, of continuing the resistance such as General Charles Noguès in North Africa. Also, Monnet thought that an organization centered in London would appear to

4118-439: The time because Francisco Giannini was trying to obtain custody of the child. The legal battle was decided in favour of Silvia in 1937 in New York, but the ruling wasn't recognized by some other countries. In 1941 Monnet and Silvia had another daughter, Marianne. The Monnet family returned to France in 1945 and, after the death of Francisco Giannini in 1974, the couple married canonically in the cathedral of Lourdes . Silvia Monnet

4189-403: The treaty as well as the Benelux union and was the first President of the European Parliament . Other founding fathers who signed the treaty were Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967) of Germany and Joseph Bech (1887–1975) of Luxembourg. Further men who have been considered founding fathers are: Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872) who founded the association " Young Europe " in 1834 with the vision of

4260-531: The white wine must be made from at least 90% Ugni blanc (known in Italy as Trebbiano ), Folle blanche and Colombard , while up to 10% of the grapes used can be Folignan, Jurançon blanc , Meslier St-François (also called Blanc Ramé), Sélect, Montils , or Sémillon . Cognacs that are not to carry the name of a cru are freer in the allowed grape varieties, needing at least 90% Colombard, Folle blanche, Jurançon blanc, Meslier Saint-François, Montils, Sémillon, or Ugni blanc, and up to 10% Folignan or Sélect. After

4331-559: Was a representative in Italy. In April 1931, Silvia gave birth to a daughter, Anna, whose legal father was Giannini. Since divorce wasn't allowed in most European countries, Silvia and Jean Monnet met in Moscow, as it was possible there to obtain citizenship and residence qualifications rapidly, and to divorce and remarry at once. In 1934, he returned from China via the Trans-Siberian railway , she from Switzerland . He arranged for Silvia to obtain Soviet citizenship ; she immediately divorced her husband and married Jean Monnet. The idea for

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4402-685: Was also where Jean Monnet died on 16 March 1979. The European Parliament acquired the house in 1982 and erected a multimedia conference room in 2000. Numerous streets, squares, and avenues have been named after Jean Monnet in France and elsewhere in Europe. They include the Place Jean-Monnet in the 16th arrondissement of Paris , and the Jean-Monnet-Strasse in the Moabit neighborhood of Berlin . Many educational institutions are named after Monnet, including numerous French Lycées and Jean Monnet University ( Université Jean Monnet de Saint-Étienne ), situated on two campuses in Saint-Étienne . Outside France, educational institutions named after Monnet include

4473-417: Was an elected member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1962) and the American Philosophical Society (1964). On 6 December 1963, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom , with Special Distinction, by United States President Lyndon Johnson . The decision had been made by President Kennedy before his assassination. In 1972, Queen Elizabeth II made him an honorary Member of

4544-519: Was an improvised farewell party; but they had an embarrassed air which puzzled me. Finally, Etzel pushed forward Michel Gaudet, who made the following statement: "Monsieur le Président, your legal service has the duty to inform you that you cannot leave your post. We have gone through the Treaty over and over again, and it is clear that you remain President in office for as long as your successor has not been appointed." We halted our removal, and I stayed in Luxembourg for five more long months. Everyone had

4615-449: Was deeply religious; his sister Marie-Louise was a founder of the French branch of Action Catholique , to which Monnet contributed financially. She would later introduce her brother to Pope Paul VI . Monnet did not complete the baccalauréat qualification and instead traveled to the United Kingdom, where he lived in London learning business with Mr Chaplin, an agent of J.-G. Monnet. Subsequently, he travelled widely – to Canada ,

4686-452: Was impressed by the American organizational energy and saw cooperation with the new superpower as Europe's only chance to reorganize and recover itself. In 1941, Roosevelt, with Churchill's agreement, launched the Victory Program , which represented the involvement of the United States in the war effort. After the war, British economist John Maynard Keynes stated that Monnet, through his coordination work, had probably shortened World War II by

4757-643: Was no longer allied with Britain, Monnet resigned as Chairman of the Anglo-French Coordinating Committee and wound up its operations. Churchill invited Monnet to continue his work securing supplies from North America with the British Purchasing Commission . In this role he would ask for rapid and massive increases in the flow of American weapons, and he became known for arguing “Better ten thousand tanks too many than one tank too few." Soon after his arrival in Washington, D.C. , Monnet became an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt . Convinced that America could serve as "the great arsenal of democracy", he persuaded

4828-504: Was not a German head of state. Public memorials to Monnet include: In the United States, a bill was introduced in 2022 to erect a bench in memory of Monnet in Rock Creek Park , with support from the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission and National Park Service . The Jean Monnet House is located in Houjarray, a hamlet of Bazoches-sur-Guyonne , Yvelines , 80 kilometres (50 miles) outside Paris. This old farm became Jean Monnet's property in 1945, upon his return to France. It

4899-727: Was there that Jean Monnet and his advisors, in the last days of April 1950, drew up the historic declaration that Robert Schuman used to address Europe on 9 May 1950, proposing the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community. In the house, Robert Schuman, Walter Hallstein , Paul-Henri Spaak , Konrad Adenauer , René Pleven , Helmut Schmidt , and many others exchanged their views with Jean Monnet on Europe's common future. On Sundays, he had friends passing by come to his house; among them were Dwight Eisenhower , George Ball , and Edward Heath . Monnet liked fireside conversations with journalists such as Walter Lippmann , Hubert Beuve-Méry , or his neighbour Pierre Viansson-Ponté . This house

4970-433: Was to become the headquarters of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe was ready to receive the furniture from our house at Bricherhof on the outskirts of Luxembourg, already packed up. I remember coming home from a walk with Silvia one winter evening to find the house brightly lit and surrounded by cars. My colleagues on the High Authority were waiting for me with their retinue of advisers. At first, I thought it

5041-525: Was very important to her husband throughout their forty-five years of marriage, according to Louis Joxe , Monnet "would spend hours writing to his wife, whose opinion mattered more to him than that of anyone else". On 16 March 1979, Jean Monnet died at the age of 90 in his home in Houjarray, Bazoches-sur-Guyonne . His funeral took place in the church of Montfort-l'Amaury on 20 March 1979, with French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt both present. On 9 November 1988, on

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