Pierre Boisson
Pierre François Boisson (19 June 1894 – 20 July 1948) was a senior French civil servant, colonial administrator, and the Governor General of French Equatorial Africa (AEF) and French West Africa (AOF). His diplomatic career included two terms where he reigned as Governor-General of the AOF and one term as Governor-General of the AEF. During his second reign over these territories, he is remembered for assuming the role of High Commissioner to Vichy France. His diplomatic actions were met with strong condemnation from the French Resistance. These attitudes significantly aroused negative French public sentiment after the war until his death. As such, Boisson's legacy is significantly tainted by his decision to surrender French colonial control to Vichy administrative forces. Early life and career Pierre Boisson was born in Saint-Launeuc, Cotes du Nord. His mother was a teacher and his father was a disabled war veteran. He took after the occupation ambitions of his parents to become a schoolteacher until the First World War broke out. World War I During the First World War, he held the position of second lieutenant in the 71st Infantry regiment. He served in the battles of Artois, the Argonne, and at Verdun. Over the course