Brian Aristide

Aristide Brian (March 28, 1862, Nantes – March 7, 1932, Paris) was a French politician. He served as the Prime Minister of France for eleven terms and as a member of the government twenty-six times. He was the leader of the French section of the International Workers' Association and the Republican-Socialist Party. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926. He fought for the complete separation of church and state. His politics were aimed at ensuring social protection for citizens.

Due to ideological sympathies, he took significant steps to support the Democratic Republic of Georgia. He was the main initiator and lobbyist for de jure recognition of Georgia. In January 1921, he sent an official representative to London to coordinate a common stance on arms supplies to Georgia. In March 1921, France transferred a small portion of weapons from its Constantinople stockpiles to the Democratic Republic of Georgia. After the occupation of the Democratic Republic of Georgia by Bolshevik Russia, Brian remained a supporter of the independence of Georgia and the Caucasus. He met several times with representatives of the Caucasian republics and urged for united action. In January 1922, at a meeting of the Entente Council in Cannes, which he chaired, a resolution was adopted demanding the withdrawal of Russian occupation forces from the South Caucasus.

Literature: ს ა რ ა ლ ი ძ ე  ლ., არისტიდ ბრიანი და კავკასიის გაერთიანების იდეა, ივ. ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტის ჰუმანიტარულ მეცნიერებათა ფაკულტეტის საქართველოს ისტორიის ინსტიტუტის შრომები ტ. XII, 2017.

I. Iremadze