Jean Monnet
Jean Monnet Bust of Monnet at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community In office 10 August 1952 – 3 June 1955 Preceded by None Succeeded by René Mayer Personal details Born Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (1888-11-09)9 November 1888 Cognac, Charente Died 16 March 1979(1979-03-16) (aged 90) Houjarray, Bazoches-sur-Guyonne Resting place Panthéon, Paris, France 48°50′46″N 2°20′45″E / 48.84611°N 2.34583°E / 48.84611; 2.34583Coordinates: 48°50′46″N 2°20′45″E / 48.84611°N 2.34583°E / 48.84611; 2.34583 Citizenship French Spouse(s) Silvia de Bondini (fr) (1934–1979) Religion Roman Catholic Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (French: [ʒɑ mɔnɛ]; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French political economist and diplomat. He is regarded by many as a chief architect of European unity and one of the founding fathers of the European Union. Never elected to public office, Monnet worked behind the scenes of American and European governments as a well-connected pragmatic internationalist. He was named patron of the 1980–1981 academic year at the College of Europe, in honour of his accomplishments.