The French statesman Édouard Daladier (1884-1970) represented his country at the Munich Conference in September 1938.

The son of a baker, Édouard Daladier was born on June 18, 1884, at Carpentras. An ardent Dreyfusard schoolteacher and member of the Radical Socialist party, he was elected to Parliament in 1919. He attained ministerial rank under his former teacher Édouard Herriot in 1924 and served in most cabinets until 1940.

During his first premiership, from January to October 1933, Daladier signed the Four-Power Peace Pact with Great Britain, Germany, and Italy. Widely considered a "strong man," he was recalled to power in January 1934 to deal with disorders provoked by right-wing extremists. Undeterred, they rioted in Paris on Feb. 6, 1934, and forced Daladier to resign after only 11 days in office. A rival of Herriot and leader of the progressive Radicals, Daladier led his party into Léon Blum's left-wing Popular Front coalition, which won the...