Henri Canonge
{{Infobox person
| name = Henri Canonge
| image = Henri_Canonge_Congres_Vittel_1974.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = Henri Albert Canonge
| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|5|13}}
| birth_place = Barre-des-Cévennes, Lozère, France
| death_date = {{death date and age|1981|10|23|1914|5|13}}
| death_place = Rodez, Aveyron, France
| nationality = French
| occupation = Syndicalist, cooperative leader, politician
| known_for = Director of the CGA, advocate of agricultural modernization
}}
Henri Albert Canonge (May 13, 1914 – October 23, 1981) was a French syndicalist and a prominent figure in post-war agricultural cooperatives.{{cite book |title=Mémoires d'un paysan (1925-2009) |last=Pinchon |first=Jean |publisher=L'Harmattan |year=2010 |isbn=978-2296131125 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Qr_pjVNrvkC }}
Early life
Henri Canonge was born to Protestant pastor Albert Adolphe Canonge (1872–1946) and Alix Rosalie Lamarche (1873–1961) in Barre-des-Cévennes, a village in Lozère, France. After studying at the Lycée du Parc in Lyon, he enrolled in the National Institute of Agronomy in 1934, graduating as an agronomist engineer.
He married Germaine Puech, niece of sculptor Denys Puech, on July 1, 1939. After her death, he remarried Ida Henriette Lambert on July 24, 1967.
Career
Henri Canonge began his career at the Caisse Nationale de Crédit Agricole. He became an active member of the socialist-leaning Confédération Nationale Paysanne (CNP) in 1936.{{cite web |url=https://www.invivo-group.com/sites/default/files/atoms/files/aux-racines-d-invivo-bd.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712230758/https://www.invivo-group.com/sites/default/files/atoms/files/aux-racines-d-invivo-bd.pdf |title=Aux racines d'InVivo |publisher=InVivo Group|archive-date=12 July 2017 |access-date=December 17, 2024 |page=22}}
In 1945, he served as director of the General Confederation of Agriculture (CGA). The CGA faced increasing dominance from the Fédération nationale des syndicats d'exploitants agricoles (National Federation of Farmers' Unions or FNSEA) and ceased operations in 1953.{{cite book |last=Faure |first=Marcel |title=Les paysans dans la société française |year=1966 |publisher=Armand Colin |pages=84–85 }}
From 1954 to 1975, Canonge was secretary-general and later director-general of the Confédération nationale de la mutualité, de la coopération et du crédit agricoles. Simultaneously, he managed the Maison du Rouergue in Paris.
Political Contributions
Henri Canonge was appointed to the French Council of State in 1970 and served as a member of the European Economic and Social Committee from 1958 to 1976, chairing it from 1974 to 1976.{{cite web |url=https://www.cvce.eu/obj/henri_canonge-fr-3e09cbce-8e3f-43a5-98ea-50a56bef6322.html |title=Henri Canonge |date=8 December 2011 |publisher=CVCE.eu }} He was also the mayor of Mont-Saint-Père from 1977 to 1978.
During the Larzac protests in the 1970s, Canonge discreetly supported farmers opposing military expansion.{{cite book |title=Larzac: De la lutte paysanne à l'altermondialisme |last=Terral |first=Pierre-Marie |year=2011 |publisher=Privat |isbn=978-2708969186 }}
Legacy
Henri Canonge died on October 23, 1981, in Rodez and was buried in Bozouls. A street in Bozouls is named in his honor.{{cite web |url=http://www.jestime.com/prix-immobilier-m2/midi-pyrenees/aveyron/bozouls-12340/rue-henri-canonge.html |title=Rue Henri Canonge - Bozouls |publisher=Jestime.com }}
References
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Category:French trade union leaders