# Vincent Auriol elected president (1947)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1947-vincent-auriol-elected-president
Location: France
Categories: ruler-change

Auriol became the first president of the Fourth Republic. Within the broader Occupation, Liberation & Fourth Republic period, Defeat in 1940 divided France between Vichy, occupation and resistance. Liberation restored republican government, followed by reconstruction, welfare-state building, European integration and violent decolonization under the Fourth Republic. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Vincent Auriol (President of the French Republic). Vincent Auriol elected president mattered because succession and legitimacy shaped alliances, institutions and the direction of state policy. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Vincent Auriol elected president mattered because succession and legitimacy shaped alliances, institutions and the direction of state policy.

Ruler at the time: [Vincent Auriol](https://history-france.com/rulers/vincent-auriol)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Vincent Auriol elected president](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Vincent+Auriol+elected+president&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Vincent Auriol elected president](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Vincent+Auriol+elected+president)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)