André Malraux
French Minister of Culture 1959-1969, French, 1901-1976
French novelist, archaeologist, art theorist, political activist, and public official, whose writings were major contributions to 20th-century culture. Malraux was born into a prosperous Parisian family and educated at the School of Oriental Languages, Paris. In 1923 he went to Indochina to do archaeological research. He became active in the struggle of Annamese revolutionists to win self-rule from France, and he remained in the Orient until 1927. Malraux used his Asian experiences as background for three novels: The Conquerors (1928; trans. 1929), The Royal Way (1930; trans. 1935), and Man's Fate (1933; trans. 1934). The last-named work won the Prix Goncourt and international fame. His next novel, Days of Wrath (1935; trans. 1936), was inspired by a visit to Germany, then under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. His experiences as a pilot with a Loyalist air squadron during the Spanish Civil War were the basis for the novel Man's Hope (1938; trans. 1938). In World War II Malraux volunteered as a private, was captured by the Germans, escaped, and served as a colonel in the French Resistance but was recaptured. In 1945-46 he joined the provisional government of Charles de Gaulle. From 1959 until 1969 Malraux was minister for cultural affairs. He retired to a suburb of Paris, where he continued to write until his death.