Georges Pompidou (1911-1974) was the second president of the French Fifth Republic (1969-1974). He played a major role in solidifying the new system that gave France more than a generation of effective government and economic growth.

There was nothing in Pompidou's early years to suggest a career at the top of French political life. He was born on July 5, 1911, in a small town in central France. His parents were rural school teachers with strong peasant roots. Like many children of teachers, Pompidou aspired to an academic career. In 1931 he entered the prestigious Ecole normale supérieure, and by 1934 he had also passed the aggrégation exam (that qualifies one to teach in universities) and received a diploma from the Ecole libre des sciences politique. The small town boy, grandson of peasants, had joined the French elite.

Pompidou spent the rest of the pre-World War II years...