'Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey' (
November 17,
1854 -
July 27,
1934) was a
French general, the first
Resident-General in
Morocco from
1912 to
1925 and from
1921 Marshal of France.
Early life
Lyautey was born at
Nancy (
Lorraine).
He graduated from the French military academy of
Saint-Cyr in
1873. He made his career by serving in the colonies and not in the more prestigious metropolitan France. The first years after graduating, Lyautey served as a cavalry officer in
Algeria. He served from
1894 to
1897 in
Indochina. He served from
1897 to
1902 under
Joseph Galliéni, whom he had met in Indochina, in
Madagascar. Lyautey reached general officer's rank in
1902 when he was made ''général de brigade''.
Madagascar
Louis Lyautey played a key role in the invasion of
Madagascar (
1896-
1898), in which he commanded the French forces. His military skill and success in this campaign greatly contributed to his promotion to ''general de brigade''.
Morocco
The murder of French citizens in
Casablanca was used as a pretext for Lyautey to occupy
Oujda in eastern
Morocco at the
Algerian border in
1907. Having been promoted to ''général de division'', Lyautey was Military Governor of
French Morocco from
4 August 1907 to
28 April,
1912. After the
Convention of Fez established a
protectorate over Morocco, Lyautey served as Resident-General of
French Morocco from
April 28,
1912 to
25 August,
1925.
He is considered to have been an apt colonial administrator. During the
First World War, he continued the occupation of the country, regardless of the fact that France needed most of her resources in the struggle against the
Central Powers. Lyautey served as France's
Minister of War for three months in 1917. In
1925, Lyautey lost military command of the French forces engaged against
Abd-el-Krim to
Pétain and resigned to return to France.
See also
★
Lycée Lyautey (Casablanca)
Miscellaneous
★ He died in Thorey, was buried in Morocco but reinterred in
Les Invalides in
1961
★ The town of
Kenitra was called "Port Lyautey" for a while, after him.
★ The Garrison of the
13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment is named after him.
Quote
Lyautey has been suggested as the author of the famous quote about dialects stating that "a language is a dialect which owns an army, a navy and an air force" ("Une langue, c'est un dialecte qui possède une armée, une marine et une aviation.").
A separate article discusses the
origin of this aphorism in greater detail.
John F. Kennedy and
Lloyd Bentsen were said to tell a story about him:
:The great French Marshal Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshal replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!'
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