Poher, Alain, 1909-

Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher (French: [alɛ̃ pɔɛʁ]; 17 April 1909 – 9 December 1996) was a French politician who served as president of the Senate from 1968 to 1992 and as acting president of France in 1969 and 1974. Poher was affiliated with the Popular Republican Movement (MRP) until 1966 and later with the Democratic Centre (CD) and Centre of Social Democrats (CSD), which he joined in 1976. A native of Ablon-sur-Seine south of Paris, Poher was a longtime member of the Senate (1946–1948; 1952–1995), where he sat first for Seine-et-Oise until 1968 and then Val-de-Marne. He also served as president of the European Parliament from 1966 to 1969. As the longest-serving president of the Senate and the sole unelected president of the Fifth Republic, Poher remained an influential figure in 20th-century French politics. He ran in the 1969 presidential election but was defeated by Georges Pompidou in the second round. Poher died at the age of 87 in 1996, a year after his retirement from the Senate.