Jean Monnet

In this sweeping biography, Francois Duchene explores Monnet's complex personality, from his birth in Cognac through his eventful political and personal lives. First a merchant in the countryside of France, from 1919 to 1923 Monnet was Deputy General of the League of Nations. During the Second World War, he was a member of the Washington-based British Supply Council; in 1947, he drafted the Monnet Plan, calling for the modernization of French industry and agriculture. This led to France's participation in the Marshall Plan, and later, in Monnet's drafting of the Schuman Plan, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, of which Monnet was the first president. In the 1950s, Monnet organized the Action Committee for a United States of Europe, which supported development of the European Common Market. He remained active in the movement towards unification throughout his long life.