1841-1929
Premier of
France twice, first 1906-1909 then again 1917-1920.
1917-1920 was, as you may know, the end of
WWI.
Clemenceau spoke on behalf of
France at the end of the
war as one of the "
The Big Three" powers at the
Paris Peace Conference where the
Treaty of Versailles was drawn up. France had been hurt severely during the war, suffering the most most casualties and the most
humiliation. France was very angry at
Germany and was set on a crushing revenge.
Clemenceau demanded Germany pay huge amounts of
reparation, return
Alsace-Lorraine, Germany's disarmament, the dismemberment of Germany, and all of the produce from the mines of
Saar for the next 15 years.
He was never happy with the way the treaty turned out, and ironically lost the re-election of 1920 because he was viewed as too lenient towards
Germany.