Emmanuel d' Astier de la Vigerie (1900–1969)

Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie was born in Paris to an aristocratic French family. He graduated from France's Naval Academy but resigned from the service in 1923 to became a journalist and poet. At the outbreak of World War II, he re-enlisted into the French Navy and became the head of naval intelligence. After the defeat of France, he co-founded the Resistance group Libération-sud in Clermont-Ferrand with Raymond and Lucie Aubrac and Jean Cavaillès. The group carried out sabotage attacks at train stations and distributed clandestine literature, including their underground newspaper Libération. In 1943, d'Astier joined the Free French government-in-exile in London as a Commissioner to the Interior. While there, he wrote the lyrics for the song "La complainte du partisan," known in English translation as "The Partisan," which was later recorded by Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez, and many others. After the war, d'Astier became Minister of Interior in the French Provisional Government, continued to publish Libération, and wrote about his experiences. He was elected to the National Assembly, serving for 13 years, and was among the founders of the left-wing party Union progressiste. He denounced the Soviet Union after the crushing of the Hungarian uprising in 1956, and broke ties with Communists. He was the author of more than a dozen books beginning in 1925, including Sur Staline (1963) and De la chute à la libération de Paris: 25 août 1944 (1965).