Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie

Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie (11 September 1897 - 10 October 1952) was a French soldier, resistance member, and politician.

Henri d'Astier was born in Villedieu-sur-Indre, a small village in the Indre département of central France. His military career began in 1915, and by the end of World War I, he had reached the rank of lieutenant, and had been awarded the Legion of Honor.

Politically, d'Astier was strongly conservative. In particular, he believed that the republican form of government was weak and ineffective, and that France would be stronger under a monarchy. He was an admirer of Charles Maurras, a prominent monarchist intellectual and poet. It is possible that d'Astier was involved in La Cagoule, a fascist-leaning organisation that sought the French Republic's overthrow.

When World War II broke out, d'Astier was called back into active service. Although d'Astier's political views were broadly similar to those of the Nazis, he was also determined to see France stand as a strong nation, and therefore vehemently opposed the German invasion. This contrasted sharply with the attitude of some of his ideological colleagues, who urged collaboration and alliance with the Nazis. After the French defeat, d'Astier became active in the French Resistance.

He was eventually forced to flee, however, when the capture of a colleague threatened to expose him — he escaped to Oran, in Algeria, in 1941. There, d'Astier and his resistance colleagues infiltrated the Vichy authorities. When the allies invaded North Africa in 1942, d'Astier helped lead a co-ordinated rebellion in Algiers against Admiral François Darlan, commander in chief of the Vichy military. Breaking from the Vichy regime, Darlan negotiated a surrender with the Allies, managing to retain control of the local administration.

Despite his surrender, however, Darlan was soon assassinated — the killer was Ferdinand Bonnier de La Chapelle, a member of the resistance. Although he is believed to have acted alone, Darlan's successor, Henri Giraud, accused the resistance of organising the assassination, and launched a crackdown. Many of its key figures were arrested, and d'Astier went into hiding. He was found and arrested in early 1943. When Charles de Gaulle became sole head of the non-Vichy French forces, however, d'Astier was released again. He was then appointed to the Commission of National Defense.

In 1944, d'Astier led a small 45-man detachment in France, operating behind enemy lines to prepare the way for the Allied invasion. He continued to fight in France for the remainder of the war.

Henri d'Astier died in Geneva in 1952.