Robert Schuman was born in Luxembourg in 1886. He moved to France and in 1919 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. A moderate conservative he joined the more liberal Popular Republican Movement in 1940. During the Second World War he was a member of the French Resistance. ...show more

Robert Schuman was born in Luxembourg in 1886. He moved to France and in 1919 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. A moderate conservative he joined the more liberal Popular Republican Movement in 1940. During the Second World War he was a member of the French Resistance.

Schuman served as prime minister between November 1947 and July 1948. This was followed by a period as foreign minister and in 1949 Jean Monnet, Planning Commissioner in France, proposed what eventually became known as the Schuman Plan. The proposal was the basis for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) that was established in 1952. It was agreed that the six countries that signed the Treaty of Paris, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, would pool its coal and steel resources.

In 1958 Schuman was elected president of the European Assembly in Strasbourg. Robert Schuman died in 1963.. ...show less