Jean Desmaison
Jean Desmaison (12 October 1931 – 17 September 1991) was a French trade union leader.

Born in Limoges, Desmaison's mother died when he was three, and he was largely raised by his grandmother. He became a miller in 1951, and joined the French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC), in order to take part in a strike at his workplace, despite being an atheist. He then spent a year doing military service, and when he returned to work in 1954, he decided to instead join the General Confederation of Labour's affiliate, the Metalworkers' Federation.

He soon became branch secretary of the union, then in 1956 became deputy general secretary of its local section. In 1960, he joined the French Communist Party (PCF), and in 1962, he began working full-time for the union's secretariat, focusing initially on electronics workers, and then on the aviation sector.

In 1966, Desmaison was elected as general secretary of the Trade Union International of Workers in the Metal Industry, and spent three years working in Prague. He was there during the Prague Spring, and this influenced him to leave the post. He returned to work for the Metalworkers' Federation, becoming federal secretary in 1979, and winning election as general secretary in 1988. From 1989, he served on the executive of the CGT, but he retired from all his posts in 1991, after being diagnosed with cancer, and died a few days later.
Q121842
French
Concept
Q45656
Limoges
LOC
Q1125610
French Confederation of Christian Workers
ORG
Q1125638
General Confederation of Labour
MEDIA
Q3091698
Metalworkers' Federation
Concept
Q192821
French Communist Party
ORG
Q17027234
Trade Union International of Workers in the Metal Industry
ORG
Q1085
Prague
LOC
Q162401
Prague Spring
TIME
Q90910095
Jean Desmaison
PER
1931-10-12T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
12 October 1931
DATE
1991-09-17T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
17 September 1991
DATE
1951-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1951
DATE
1954-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1954
DATE
1956-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1956
DATE
1960-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1960
DATE
1962-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1962
DATE
1966-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1966
DATE
1979-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1979
DATE
1988-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1988
DATE
1989-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1989
DATE
1991-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1991
DATE
date of death
affiliation