Servan-Schreiber, Jean-Jacques

Servan-Schreiber, Jean-Jacques, 1924–2006, French journalist, politician, and public intellectual, b. Paris, grad. École Polytechnique (1947). A political writer at Le Monde (1948–53), he moved on to cofound and manage the news magazine L'Express (1953–73). Drafted (1956) into the French army during the Algerian crisis, he wrote an exposé, Lieutenant en Algérie (1957, tr. Lieutenant in Algeria, 1958), opposing French colonial policy there. His best-selling, most controversial, and most influential book, Le Défi américain (1967, tr. The American Challenge, 1968) warned Europe against being economically engulfed by the United States and simultaneously urged European emulation of American leadership and innovation. Servan-Schreiber was secretary general (1969–71) and president (1971–75, 1977–79) of the Radical-Socialist party, a member (1970–78) of the National Assembly, and a minister (1974) under Jacques Chirac. Chairman of the World Center for Computer Literacy, Paris (1981–86), he taught at Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, during the 1980s and 90s. His other books include Les Réveil de la France (1968, tr. The Spirit of May, 1969), Le Manifeste (1977), Le Défi mondiale (1980, The World Challenge, 1981), and his memoirs, Passions (2 vol., 1991–93).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: French Literature: Biographies