Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber
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Servan-Schreiber in 1973
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| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 1970–1978 |
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| Preceded by | Roger Souchal |
| Succeeded by | Yvon Tondon |
| Constituency | Moselle's 1st constituency |
| Minister of Reforms | |
| In office 28 May 1974 – 9 June 1974 |
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| President | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing |
| Prime Minister | Jacques Chirac |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 February 1924 Paris, France |
| Died | 7 November 2006 (aged 82) Fécamp, France |
| Political party | Radical Party |
| Children | 4 |
| Parents | Émile Servan-Schreiber Denise Bréard |
| Relatives | Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber (brother) Brigitte Gros (sister) Christiane Collange (sister) Fabienne Servan-Schreiber (niece) |
| Education | Lycée Janson-de-Sailly |
| Alma mater | École Polytechnique |
| Signature | .png) |
Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber (born February 13, 1924, died November 7, 2006) was a famous French journalist and politician. People often called him JJSS. He helped start a popular weekly magazine called L'Express in 1953. Later, in 1971, he became the leader of the Radical Party, a political group in France. He helped change the party to be more center-right. In 1972, he tried to create a new political group called the Reforming Movement. He supported Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in the 1974 presidential election.
About Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber
Early Life and Education
Jean-Jacques Schreiber was born in Paris, France. He was the oldest son of Émile Servan-Schreiber, who was also a journalist. His father started a financial newspaper called Les Échos. Jean-Jacques had three siblings who also became journalists or politicians. These included Brigitte Gros, who became a senator, and Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber, a journalist.
JJSS was a very smart and hardworking child. He went to school at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Paris. In 1943, he was accepted into École Polytechnique, which is a top engineering school in France. During World War II, he joined Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces. He went to Alabama in the United States to train as a fighter pilot. However, he never actually fought in the war.
After the war, he finished his studies at École Polytechnique in 1947. But he decided not to work as an engineer. Instead, he became very interested in writing and journalism. He was hired by the newspaper Le Monde to write about foreign affairs. He knew a lot about the United States and focused on the Cold War.
Starting L'Express Magazine
Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber understood early on that many countries would soon become independent from colonial rule. He wrote articles about the conflict in Indo-China. This led him to meet Pierre Mendès-France, who later became Prime Minister.
In 1953, JJSS helped start a weekly magazine called L'Express with Françoise Giroud. At first, it was a Saturday extra in his family's newspaper. The magazine wanted to help Mendès-France become powerful. L'Express quickly became popular with young people and smart thinkers. Famous writers like Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre wrote for it. When Mendès-France was Prime Minister, JJSS was one of his close advisors.
In 1956, Servan-Schreiber had to serve in the army in Algeria. He wrote a book about his experiences there called "Lieutenant en Algérie". The book described the harsh actions of the French army. This caused a lot of discussion and debate.
JJSS did not support General De Gaulle's return to power in 1958. After De Gaulle became successful, L'Express's influence became weaker. Around this time, JJSS also faced personal changes. His family lost control of Les Échos newspaper. He also married Sabine Becq de Fouquières, and they had four sons: David, Émile, Franklin, and Édouard.
In 1964, JJSS changed L'Express into a weekly news magazine, similar to TIME. The magazine became very popular again. It started covering new topics like technology and women's rights. It showed how French society was changing.
The American Challenge Book
By the 1960s, Servan-Schreiber was a powerful newspaper owner and a political writer. He was always looking for new ideas. He became unhappy with De Gaulle's policies and wanted to do more than just observe.
He worked with Michel Albert, who gave him a lot of information for his articles. One report especially caught his attention. It said that the United States and Europe were in a quiet economic competition. Europe seemed to be falling behind in areas like management, technology, and research.
Servan-Schreiber saw that this idea could become an important book. He added his own thoughts and ideas for how Europe could catch up. The result was his international best-selling book, Le Défi Américain ("The American Challenge"), published in 1967. It sold 600,000 copies in France, which was a huge number for a political book. It was translated into 15 languages. This book helped bring back a sense of French pride and showed how important it was for European countries to work together.
After the book's success, he traveled around Europe. He gave speeches to large crowds, talking about the benefits of a united Europe with a common currency. He also spoke about making France less centralized.
Political Career and Ideas
When General De Gaulle resigned in 1969, Servan-Schreiber decided to enter politics. In October 1969, he became the secretary-general of the Radical Party. He helped change the party and wrote its main ideas. In 1971, he became the party's president. After some members left to form a different party, Servan-Schreiber led the center-right Parti radical valoisien.
He was elected as a Deputy (like a member of parliament) for Nancy in 1970. But later that year, he surprised everyone by running against Jacques Chaban-Delmas in Bordeaux. He lost badly, which hurt his public image.
JJSS served several times in the French National Assembly. In 1974, he became the Minister for Reform. However, he was against nuclear tests. Because of this, he resigned after only three weeks, following a disagreement with Prime Minister Jacques Chirac. In 1976, he was elected President of the regional council of Lorraine.
Throughout his political career, he often supported new ideas that were not popular in France at the time. He wanted to give more power to local regions. He suggested using money from the Concorde airplane program for the Airbus instead. He also wanted to stop nuclear testing and make France more computerized. He refused to work with the Communist Party. His approach of staying in the center of politics was not always successful and eventually weakened his party.
In 1977, he sold L'Express magazine to Jimmy Goldsmith. Without his magazine, his political career quickly declined. He lost his Assembly seat in 1978. In 1979, he left the party to run in the first direct European elections. His list of candidates, focused on "Employment, Equality, Europe," only received a small percentage of votes. After this, Servan-Schreiber decided to leave politics.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1980, Servan-Schreiber published his second best-selling book, Le Défi mondial (The Global Challenge). This book was about how Japan was becoming a leader in technology through computerization. The book was also made into a TV show called The World Challenge.
He continued to advise his friends, including François Mitterrand and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who later became presidents. He tried to create a center in France to promote information technology, but it did not succeed.
Later, he moved to Pittsburgh in the United States. His four sons studied at Carnegie Mellon University, which is famous for computer science. Servan-Schreiber worked there, managing the university's international relations.
He returned to France and continued to write, including two books about his life. He developed a degenerative disease similar to Alzheimer's disease. Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber passed away in 2006. His oldest son, David, who was a psychiatrist and writer, died in 2011.
See also
In Spanish: Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber para niños
