Aristide Briand
Briand, Aristide (1862–1932), a French statesman. He was premier 11 times during 1909–29, but was most famous for his accomplishments as foreign minister during the middle and late 1920's. In 1925 Briand helped negotiate the Locarno treaties by which France and Germany were bound to peaceful settlement of disputes. ( See Locarno, Treaties Of. ) For his role in these negotiations, he won half of the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize. In 1928 Briand helped sponsor the Kellogg-Briand Pact, by which nearly all nations agreed to renounce war as an instrument of national policy. ( See Paris, Pact Of. ) Briand was born in Nantes and studied law. He was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1902.