Schuman was a Christian Democrat (M.R.P.) and an independent political thinker and activist.

Robert Schuman (29 June 1886 – 4 September 1963) was a noted French statesman.

Twice Prime Minister of France, a reformist Minister of Finance and a Foreign Minister, he was instrumental in building post-war European and trans-Atlantic institutions and is regarded as one of the founders of the European Union, the Council of Europe and NAT.