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Maghrebi lawyer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Léon Réne Sultan (Arabic: ليون سلطان; September 13, 1905 – June 23, 1945) was a French-Algerian lawyer and founder of the Communist Party of Morocco.[2][3][4][1]
Léon Sultan | |
|---|---|
ليون سلطان | |
 A portrait of Leon Sultan published with his obituary in Le Petit Marocain June 24, 1945.[1] | |
| Born | September 13, 1905 |
| Died | June 23, 1945 (aged 39) |
| Cause of death | Stroke from complications of an injury sustained in combat |
He was born to an Algerian Jewish family—one of 8 children—in Constantine, Algeria in 1905.[2][5] He was technically a French citizen due to the Crémieux Decree.[2] His father worked at the military factories in the city.[2]
He studied at the College of Law of Algiers (Faculté de droit d’Alger), then from 1925 to 1929 practiced at his own law office in Constantine.[2] In 1929, he moved his practice to Casablanca, Morocco, where he joined young socialists and socialized with the city's Muslims as well as Jews.[2][5] He was fluent in Arabic and French.[4]
He was disbarred by the antisemitic French Vichy regime.[5][1]
In 1936, communist activity was legalized by the Popular Front government in France.[3] A branch of the French communist party was established in Morocco and based in Casablanca, and Léon Sultan served as its secretary.[3] It wasn't big, and it was made up almost exclusively of intellectuals.[3] Léon Sultan wrote articles for the Clarté, a weekly journal published by the group.[5][3] In 1939, the French communist party as well as its Moroccan branch were banned for Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.[3]
In 1943, communist activity resurged in Morocco, and Léon Sultan served as the first general secretary of the Communist Party of Morocco.[3]
He died in June 1945, and Ali Yata assumed leadership of the party.[3]
He enlisted as a volunteer to fight against the Nazis in WWII.[1] He was a lieutenant of the 5th regiment of Moroccan tirailleurs (infantrymen).[1] He participated in Alsace, along the Rhine, in the Palatinate Forest, Württemberg, Bavaria, and Austria, where he was injured on April 29, 1945, fighting on the front.[1] He continued to fight at the head of his section, not being hospitalized until May 11, 1945.[1]
He returned to Casablanca in June, where he was due to resume his recovery.[1] His return was celebrated by the Communist Party and other democratic organizations.[1] He died unexpectedly of a stroke from complications of his injury at the military hospital in Casablanca.[1]
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