Uri was born in Paris on 20 November 1911. His father was secretary of the faculty of letters. He was educated at the Lycée Henri-IV, the École Normale Supérieure, the law faculty of Paris, and later studied at Princeton University. From 1936 Uri taught philosophy at Reims, but in 1940 the anti-Jewish laws of Vichy deprived him of his post, prompting his turn to economics.[1]
Career
After World War II, Uri gained recognition through articles in Les Temps modernes and as professor of economics at the National School of Public Administration. In 1947, Jean Monnet recruited him to the French Planning Commissariat to assist in post-war reconstruction. He helped draft the 1947 national economic "balance-sheet" and later contributed to the Treaty of Paris (1951), establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, where he served as Economic Director.[1][2]
Uri remained engaged in public debate as a columnist for Le Monde, publishing works on European integration, education, and development, including a study on agriculture titled Helping the Third World to Feed Itself.[2] He also played an active role in rebuilding France’s non-Communist left and later advised François Mitterrand on economic policy.[1]
Later life and death
In 1991, President Mitterrand awarded Uri the Grand Croix of the National Order of Merit, calling him "a founder of Europe." He died of cancer in Paris on 21 July 1992, aged 80, and was survived by his wife and four children.[2]
