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Edouard Herriot was born on July 5, 1872 into a humble provincial family less than two years after republican rule returned to France. In 1905, he completed his doctorate at the Sorbonne. Herriot's rich educational experience instilled in him a deep commitment to rational investigation and inspired him to work throughout his political career to expand educational opportunity for all Frenchmen. Herriot became the first minister of European government to advocate publicly some form of European federation. One of the most important French statesmen of the first half of the twentieth century, Herriot served nearly four decades in the French parliament, headed three governments between 1924 and 1933, held posts in six other cabinets between 1916 and 1936, was mayor of Lyons from 1905 to 1957, and was leader of the Radical-Socialist Party for much of his career. While his specific political and literary achievements speak for themselves, Herriot's ultimate contribution may lie in what he symbolized.