Andre Puget
 Andre Puget    (soldier, diplomat) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | French |
| Alma mater | Saint-Cyr |
General André Puget was a French soldier and diplomat, and the first (joint) chief executive of the Concorde project. In 1961, He was eased out of the position as chief of the French General Staff "for his foot dragging over De Gaulle's Algerian policy"[1]. The presidents decision to allow the colony independence, was fiercely and violently opposed in many army circles. This disagreement allows some speculation on whether he at some time was sympathetic to the terrorist Organisation armée secrète.
In the obituary, he was described as "A hard worker and supporter of Atlantic cooperation, and firmly anti-Communist".[2]
Career
He was student at the special military school of Saint-Cyr in 1929-31. During the Second World War, he worked with the Free French Forces in the UK, flying as a bomber pilot with the Free French Air Forces, serving in North Africa and then took part in the battles in [[Tunisia], Italy, Provence and Germany.
In 1948, he worked in the staff at the Air Force. Then he took command of the Air Command in Morocco. After having followed courses in the United States, he was in charge in Paris of the division for war plans at the staff of the allied air forces in Central Europe. In 1954, he was military attaché in London.
Put at the disposal of SHAPE (NATO combined command) in February 1959, he became deputy chief of staff for plans and doctrine, under the orders of General Norstad.
Between 1961-62 he was Chief of the French Defence Staff during the end of the bloody and dirty Algerian War (1954-62),[3] but was eased out of the position "for his foot dragging over De Gaulle's Algerian policy"[4].
He was head of Sud Aviation from 23 July 1962, and was responsible for getting the Concorde plane project going, as a joint chief executive. Puget was replaced in 1967 by the controversial Maurice Papon. Because of opposition from the labor unions, Papon would not last long at Sud Aviation, being replaced by Henri Ziegler, who had also flown with the Free French Air Force during the war.
From 1967-70 Puget was the French ambassador to Sweden.
From 1970-73 he was Director of the HEC business school in Paris.
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1959 | 18 September 1959 | 20 September 1959 | Turkey Yesilkoy | The 8th Bilderberg and the first in Turkey. 60 guests. |
References
- ↑ http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,827504,00.html
- ↑ https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1973/01/29/le-general-andre-puget-est-mort_2556370_1819218.html
- ↑ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xJnlCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT92&lpg=PT92
- ↑ http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,827504,00.html
