Name
Blanchard, Francis (Interviewee)
Emmerij, Louis (Interviewer)
Title
Oral history interview with Francis Blanchard, 1999
Abstract
Born 1916 in Paris, France; education: law and politics at the University of Paris (IV); career: civil service in Morocco and Tunisia, 1940; assistant to Lucien Romier, member of Vichy government; involvement in Resistance activities; involvement in negotiation of return of Soviet soldiers; International Refugee Organization (IRO), 1947-1951; joining with International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, 1951; appointment to assistant director general, 1956; appointment to deputy director-general of ILO, 1968; director-general of ILO, 1974-1989; themes: ILO operations and awarding of Nobel Peace Prize, selection of new director-general; role of Wilfred Jenks; ILO incentive against poverty and poor working conditions; 1977 withdrawal of US from ILO; Cold War-era international relations; benefits and drawbacks of tripartism; ILO promotion of human rights; apartheid debate and withdrawal of South Africa from ILO; social clause; child labor; Solidarity labor movement in Poland; assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II; debate over international labor standards; relationships with World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF); approach to global economic inequality; conflict between international economic organizations and communist system; decline in influence of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); New International Economic Order; economic relations with China and Israel; departure from UN
Collection Name
United Nations intellectual history project (UNIHP)
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945--Underground movements--France; Nobel Prizes--History; Cold War; International relations; Labor laws and legislation, International; International economic relations; Income distribution; Apartheid--South Africa; Blanchard, Francis; International Labour Organisation Officials and employees; United Nations History; International Refugee Organization; United Nations. Economic and Social Council; International Monetary Fund; World Bank; NSZZ "Solidarność" (Labor organization)
Format
oral histories; sound recordings
Genre
Interviews
Date
1999
Note (Biographical)
Director-General, International Labour Organization
Note
Interviewed by Louis Emmerij on October 6, October 7, and October 8, 1999
Note (Provenance)
Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, Gift, 2009
Language
English
Library Location
Columbia Center for Oral History, Columbia University
Catalog Record
13683214
Persistent URL
https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8-7vhe-kd30
Related URLs
Available digital content for this interview.