Maurice Duperrey: A Year as President

Maurice Duperrey, member of the Paris Club and Governor of District 49 in 1932-1933, was the only French Rotarian to be appointed to Rotary International's highest office, that of President, in 1937-1938. He was elected at the 1937 Convention in Nice.

During his year in office, he visited 43 countries, was received by 17 heads of state, and addressed each of them in their own language, as he learned with astonishing ease and spoke nine languages fluently, including Esperanto.

This book recounts this year of presidency.

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Jean Appleton, author of this book, was Governor of the only French District in 1935-1936, then Vice-President of the European Advisory Committee (EAC) for three years.

André Gardot, also a former Governor in 1930-1931 and later President of the Central Committee of French Districts, wrote the preface to this book.

A copy of this book was presented to Maurice Duperrey by André Gardot during a formal tribute held in his honor on February 15, 1939, in the presence of Georges Bonnet, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

This copy was dedicated by Maurice Duperrey himself, nine years later, to Louis Darbon, the book's publisher.

The thought sometimes comes to me that Rotary must have been born under a lucky star. It has so frequently happened that the needs of the hour have been providentially filled; but the election of Maurice Duperrey to the international presidency was more than mere luck.

It marked the gradual rise to Rotary's highest position of a man with a charming personality, great ability, and unquestioned loyalty.

One way or another, step by step, Rotary's fuller internationality must be achieved. Maurice's year is a happy beginning of a new advance in the right direction.

He has made thousands of friends on both hemispheres and his courteous, kindly personality will never be forgotten..

Paul P. Harris.
1938, San Francisco
International Convention

Accompanying texts, scanning, retouching, restoration, assembly, and layout by Pierre-Marie Achart – Rotary Paris Agora (2020)

Published in February 2021 under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0.