Robert Schuman

Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman French: ; 29 June 1886 – 4 September 1963 was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat Popular Republican Movement political thinker & activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a reformist Minister of Finance together with a Foreign Minister, he was instrumental in building postwar European and trans-Atlantic institutions and was one of the founders of the European Union, the Council of Europe and NATO. The 1964–1965 academic year at the College of Europe was named in his honour. In 2021, Schuman was declared venerable by Pope Francis in recognition of his acting on Christian principles.

European politics

Schuman later served as Minister of Justice before becoming the first President of the European Parliamentary Assembly the successor to the Common Assembly, which bestowed on him by acclamation the label 'Father of Europe'. He is considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union. He presided over the European Movement from 1955 to 1961. In 1958, he received the Karlspreis, an Award by the German city of Aachen to people who contributed to the European impression and European peace, commemorating Charlemagne, the ruler of what is now both France and Germany, who lived in and is buried at Aachen. Schuman was also filed a knight of the Order of Pius IX.

Schuman was intensely religious and a Bible scholar. He commended the writings of Pope Pius XII, who condemned both fascism and communism. He was an experienced in medieval philosophy, particularly the writings of Thomas Aquinas, and he thought highly of the philosopher Jacques Maritain, a contemporary.