Pierre Lambert facts for kids
Pierre Lambert (whose real name was Pierre Boussel) was an important French political leader. He was born on June 9, 1920, and died on January 16, 2008. Lambert was a follower of Trotskyism, which is a type of communism based on the ideas of Leon Trotsky. For many years, he was a central leader of a French political group called the Courant Communiste Internationaliste (CCI). This group later helped to create the Parti des Travailleurs.
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Early Life and Political Beginnings
Pierre Lambert was born in Paris, France. His family were Russian Jewish immigrants. He started his political work as a Trotskyist activist before World War II. At that time, he was a member of the Internationalist Workers Party (POI). After the war, he continued his activism. He joined the Internationalist Communist Party (PCI), which was the united French section of the Fourth International. The Fourth International was an international group of Trotskyist parties.
Leading the PCI and Disagreements
In the PCI, Pierre Lambert was known for his knowledge of trade union matters. He became a strong voice in the party. Later, a leader of the Fourth International named Michel Pablo suggested a strategy called "entrism sui generis." This meant joining other political parties to try and influence them from within. Lambert disagreed with this idea. He helped to challenge Pablo's views within the French section of the Fourth International. He supported the PCI leadership, including Marcel Bleibtreu.
However, differences also grew between Lambert and Bleibtreu. This led Bleibtreu to leave the PCI. By 1952, the PCI had split into two groups. They disagreed on the "entrism sui generis" strategy. They also disagreed on Pablo's idea that there could be "deformed workers' states" for hundreds of years. These were countries that claimed to be communist but were not truly democratic or workers' states.
Forming New Alliances
By 1954, Pierre Lambert became the leader of his part of the PCI. He formed an alliance with the Socialist Workers Party in the United States and other groups that opposed Pablo. Lambert led the PCI to join these groups. Together, they formed the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). This alliance lasted for almost ten years.
In 1963, the Socialist Workers Party (US) and its international allies joined with another group. This group was the International Secretariat of the Fourth International, where Pablo was no longer a main leader. They formed the United Secretariat of the Fourth International.
Later Political Groups
After 1963, Lambert continued the ICFI with the Gerry Healy-led Socialist Labour League from Britain. The ICFI became much smaller. It included the SLL, Lambert's own group (which was renamed the Organisation Communiste Internationaliste in 1966), and smaller groups in Europe and Latin America.
By 1966, tensions grew between Lambert's OCI and the SLL. In 1971, the OCI left the ICFI. They formed the Organising Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International. Later, in 1979, the Nicaraguan Revolution happened. This led to Lambert's supporters joining with Nahuel Moreno's group. They formed the Parity Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International. This committee did not succeed. Lambert's supporters then organized themselves in the Fourth International (ICR). In 1996, this group officially re-established the Fourth International and has used that name since.
Presidential Election
Using his real name, Pierre Boussel, Lambert ran as a candidate in the 1988 French presidential election. He received 116,823 votes, which was about 0.39% of all valid votes.
Death
Pierre Lambert passed away in Paris on January 16, 2008.
See also
In Spanish: Pierre Lambert para niños
