Background
Jean was born on September 19, 1924, in Paris, France.
Jean was born on September 19, 1924, in Paris, France.
He was educated first at the Lycee Louis-le-Grand then at the law faculty of the University. He went on to specialise in languages at the French Overseas School and the School of Oriental Languages.
Entering the overseas civil service, he became Secretary to the High Commissioner in Cameroon in 1946 and then was transferred in 1948 to Senegal to be head of the Information Service and Director of Radio Dakar. From 1949 to 1950 he was in Paris with the Overseas Ministry and then from 1951 to 1956 he served in Cameroon. From 1957 to 1958 he was Chef de Cabinet to Mamadou Dia as Vice-President and also President of the Senegalese Territorial Council.
Twice Governor of the Cape Verde Region, he was Secretary-General of the government for two years, and from 1962 to 1964 Secretary-General at the Presidency. After the death of Andre Peytavin, the Frenchman who was Senegal’s First Finance Minister, Collin succeeded to the post and held the portfolio for seven years. From 1970 to 1971 he also held the Economic Affairs portfolio but in November 1971 after a mysterious episode over anonymous tracts, which has never been satisfactorily cleared up, he left the Finance Ministry and became Interior Minister.
His conservative financial methods were felt by some to be a brake on the economy. There was clearly opposition to him inside the government but Senghor insisted that Collin should have a ministry of equal weight. His closeness to the Senghor family was underlined by his being mayor of Joal-Fadiouth from 1968 to 1972. An official of the Senegal Progressive Union (UPS), he has been president of the reformed municipal council of Thies since 1962.
Trained in Cameroon, he has become for many—including the President—a symbol of Senegal’s multi-racialism and a token of trust by the country in the French residents. As one of the ministers Senghor finds totally dependable, he has extensive knowledge of the people’s problems and aspirations from his grass-roots connections with local politics as a mayor and municipal president.
Married Marianne Turpin 1973.