Léon Sultan

He was born to an Algerian Jewish family—one of 8 children—in Constantine, Algeria in 1905.[2][4] He was technically a French citizen due to the Crémieux Decree.[2] His father worked at the military facilities in the city.[2]

He studied at the College of Law of Algiers (Faculté de droit d’Alger), then from 1925 to 1929 practiced at his own law office in Constantine.[2] In 1929, he moved his practice to Casablanca, Morocco, where he joined young socialists and socialized with the city's Muslims as well as Jews.[2][4] He was fluent in Arabic and French.[4]

He was disbarred by the antisemitic French Vichy regime.[4][5]

In 1936, communist activity was legalized by the Popular Front government in France.[6] A branch of the French communist party was established in Morocco and based in Casablanca, and Léon Sultan served as its secretary.[6] It wasn't big, and it was made up almost exclusively of intellectuals.[6] Léon Sultan wrote articles for the Clarté, a weekly journal published by the group.[4][6] In 1939, the French communist party as well as its Moroccan branch were banned for Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.[6]

In 1943, communist activity resurged in Morocco, and Léon Sultan served as the first general secretary of the Communist Party of Morocco.[6]

He died in February of 1945, and Ali Yata assumed leadership of the party.[6]

He enlisted as a volunteer to fight against the Nazis in WWII.[5] He was a lieutenant of the 5th regiment of Moroccan tirailleurs (infantrymen).[5] He participated in Alsace, along the Rhine, in the Palatinate Forest, Württemberg, Bavaria, and Austria, where he was injured on April 29, 1945 fighting on the front.[5] He continued to fight at the head of his section, not being hospitalized until May 11, 1945.[5]

He returned to Casablanca in June, where was due to resume his recovery.[5] His return was celebrated by the Communist Party and other democratic organizations.[5] He died unexpectedly of a stroke from complications of his injury at the military hospital in Casablanca.[5]