Édouard Daladier was born on 18 June 1884 in Carpentras, Vaucluse, as the son of a baker. He received his education at the lycée Duparc in Lyon and later became a school teacher and university lecturer in various cities, including Paris. His political career began in 1912 when he was elected mayor of Carpentras. Mobilized at the onset of World War I, he served in the French Army, where he was promoted to lieutenant and later captain, receiving several decorations for his bravery, including the Legion of Honour and the Croix de Guerre. After the war, he was elected to the Paris Chamber of Deputies in 1919, representing Orange, Vaucluse.Daladier became a prominent member of the Radical-Socialist Party, advocating for a coalition with the socialist SFIO. He held various ministerial positions during the interwar period and served as Prime Minister in 1933 and 1934. His government faced challenges, including the Stavisky Affair, a corruption scandal that led to his resignation after the 6 February 1934 riots. He returned to prominence in 1934, opposing the banking oligarchy and leading the Radical-Socialist Party into the Popular Front coalition. As Minister of National Defence from 1936 to 1940, he initiated significant military rearmament in response to the growing threat from Germany.Daladier was a key figure in the Munich Agreement negotiations in 1938, which allowed Nazi Germany to annex the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. He believed that appeasement was necessary to avoid war, despite recognizing Hitler's ambitions. Following Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, France and Britain declared war on Germany. Daladier's government struggled during the Phoney War, and he resigned on 21 March 1940, replaced by Paul Reynaud, while remaining Minister of Defence until May 1940.After France's defeat in June 1940, Daladier was arrested by the Vichy government and tried for treason during the Riom Trial. He was imprisoned in various locations, including Buchenwald concentration camp, until the end of the war. After the war, he returned to politics, serving in the Chamber of Deputies from 1946 to 1958 and as Mayor of Avignon in 1953. Daladier passed away in Paris on 10 October 1970 and was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery.