French economist and pacifist who is a founding member of several peace societies and the Inter-Parliamentary Union
1822 CE
to 1912 CE
Frédéric Passy (May 20, 1822 – June 12, 1912) is a French economist and pacifist who is a founding member of several peace societies and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
He is also an author and politician, sitting in the Chamber of Deputies from 1881 until 1889.
For his work in the peace movement, he is a joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
Born in Paris to a prominent Catholic and Orléanist family, Passy is surrounded by military veterans and politicians.
After training in law, he works as an accountant and serves in the National Guard.
He soon leaves this position and begins traveling around France giving lectures on economics.
Following years of violent conflicts across Europe, Passy joins the peace movement in the 1850s, working with several notable activists and writers to develop journals, articles, and educational curricula.
While sitting in the Chamber of Deputies, Passy develops the Inter-parliamentary Conference (later the Inter-Parliamentary Union) with British MP William Randal Cremer.
Alongside this, he founds several peace societies: the Ligue Internationale et Permanente de la Paix, the Société Française des Amis de la Paix, and the Société Française pour l'Arbitrage entre Nations.
Passy's work in the peace movement continues into his later years, and in 1901, he is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Red Cross founder, Henry Dunant.
Passy dies in 1912 after a period of illness and incapacitation.
Despite his economic works gaining little traction, his efforts in the peace movement result in him being recognized as the "dean of European peace activists".
His son, Paul Passy, publishes a memoir of his life in 1927, and his works will still be republished and translated into English in the twenty-first century.
