KLOTZ, LOUIS-LUCIEN

KLOTZ, LOUIS-LUCIEN (1868–1930), French politician and journalist. Born in Paris, Klotz, who was trained as a lawyer, began his journalistic career at the age of 20 by founding the illustrated journal, Vie Franco-Russe. He became editor of the Voltaire in 1892, and in 1895 founded the Français Quotidien. He served in various municipal and other offices, and in 1898 was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Somme department as a Radical Socialist. He remained a member of the chamber for 30 years, and between 1910 and 1920 was minister of finance in six administrations and once minister of the interior. In 1919 he was one of the French delegates to the Versailles Peace Conference and was a signatory of the Treaty. In 1928 Klotz was appointed to the Senate, but at the end of that year he was charged with fraud and sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Because of illness, however, he was released after serving only two months. Klotz was much interested in military and defense affairs, and his writings include De la guerre à la paix (1906) and L'armée en 1906 (1906). (Shulamith Catane)