Maurice Druon (1918–2009)

Maurice Druon was considered a hero of the French Resistance in World War II for co-writing (with his paternal uncle Joseph Kessel) the "Chant des Partisans," the song that became the anthem of the movement. After the war, he was one his country's most successful and eminent literary figures, tirelessly working to save the French language from what he considered the corrosive effects of global English, colloquialisms, and political correctness. He was elected to the Académie française for his scholarly writing, but is most famous for a series of seven historical novels published in the 1950s, known collectively under the title Les Rois maudits (The Accursed Kings). They have been adapted twice for French television, most recently in 2005. He also served as Minister of Cultural Affairs in 1973–1974.