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Jean Moulin was born on 20 June 1899 in Beziers, south west France, the son of a history professor.
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In 1917 he enrolled at the Law Institute of Montpellier, and started working at the prefecture of the Hérault.
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Born as the son of a professor of history, he enlisted in the army in 1918 but the World War I came to an end before he had the opportunity to see action.
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In October 1933, Moulin became the minister of the ¨Young Turks¨, an anti-Nazi group.
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In 1937, he became the youngest prefect in France when appointed as the préfet in the Aveyron département, based in the commune of Rodez.
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In June 1940, he was arrested by the occupying Gestapo and tortured as a suspected communist.
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In October 1941, Moulin produced a report entitled The Activities, Plans and Requirements of the Groups formed in France. De Gaulle was impressed with Moulin knowledge of the situation and decided he should become the leader of the resistance in France.
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In January 1942, he was parachuted back into France, to set up an organised Resistance movement. His code name was 'Max'.
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He then persuaded the eight major resistance groups to unite and form the Conseil National de la Resistance (CNR). On de Gaulle’s behest, Jean Moulin assumed the leadership of this new group by becoming its chairman, and held the first joint meeting in May 1943.
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He was a major figure in the French resistance and after his capture at the hands of the Gestapo he was brutally tortured. But being a man of conviction, he refused to reveal any vital information to his captors. He died in a train while being taken to Germany on 8 July 1943 either from injuries sustained during the torture or by committing suicide. The real cause of his death could not be ascertained.
