François Billoux

François Billoux (21 May 1903 – 14 January 1978) was a French communist politician.

François Billoux
François Billoux in 1946.
Minister of National Defence
In office 22 January 1947 – 4 May 1947
Prime Minister	Paul Ramadier
Preceded by	André Le Troquer
Succeeded by	Yvon Delbos
Minister of Reconstruction and Urban Development
In office 26 January 1946 – 28 November 1946
Prime Minister	Félix Gouin Georges Bidault
Preceded by	Raoul Dautry
Succeeded by	René Schmitt
Minister of National Economy
In office 21 November 1945 – 26 January 1946
Prime Minister	Charles de Gaulle
Preceded by	René Pleven
Succeeded by	André Philip
Minister of Public Health
In office 10 September 1944 – 21 November 1945
Prime Minister	Charles de Gaulle
Preceded by	Louis-Pasteur Vallery-Radot
Succeeded by	Robert Prigent
Personal details
Born	(1903-05-21)21 May 1903 Saint-Romain-la-Motte, Loire, French Third Republic
Died	14 January 1978(1978-01-14) (aged 74) Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Resting place	Père Lachaise Cemetery
Nationality	French
Political party	French Communist Party

Biography

Billoux was born in Saint-Romain-la-Motte. He was a member of the Central Committee of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1926, and a member of the Politburo from 1936. From 1928 until 1931, he was also General Secretary of the Young Communist Movement of France (MJCF), the youth wing of the PCF.

Billoux served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1936 to 1940, and the National Assembly from 1945 to 1978, representing Bouches-du-Rhône. During World War II, Billoux was interned in France and Algeria from 1940 until he was freed after Operation Torch in 1943. In the post-war years, he served as Minister of Public Health (1944–1945), Minister of National Economy (1945–1946), Minister of Reconstruction and Urban Development (1946) and Minister of National Defence (1947). He died in Menton, and is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.