 pierre joseph auguste messmer (; 20 march 191629 august 2007) was a french gaullist politician. he served as minister of armies under charles de gaulle from 1960 to 1969 â the longest serving since Ãtienne franÃ§ois, duc de choiseul under louis xv â and then as prime minister under georges pompidou from 1972 to 1974. a member of the french foreign legion, he was considered as one of the historical gaullists, and died aged 91 in the military hospital of the val-de-grÃ¢ce. he was elected a member of the acadÃ©mie franÃ§aise in 1999.thomas ferenczi, le gaulliste pierre messmer est mort, le monde, 29 august 2007  ==early career== pierre joseph auguste messmer was born in vincennes in 1916. he graduated in 1936 in the language school institut national des langues et civilisations orientales and the following year at the ecole nationale de la france d'outre-mer (national school of oversea france). he then became a senior civil servant in the colonial administration and became a doctor of laws in 1939. in the outbreaks of world war ii, he was sous-lieutenant of the 12th regiment of senegalese tirailleurs, and refused france's capitulation after the defeat. he then hijacked in marseille an italian cargo, along with jean simon, and sailed first to gibraltar, then london and engaged himself in the free french forces as a member of the 13th demi-brigade of the french foreign legion. messmer then participated to the campaign in eritrea, in syria, in libya, participating to the battle of bir hakeim, and in the tunisia campaign. he also fought at the battle of el alamein in egypt.messmer, lÃ©gionnaire et baron gaulliste, radio france international, 30 august 2007  he joined in london general koenig's military staff and participated to the landings in normandy in august 1944 a
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