Joseph Laniel (; 12 October 1889,
Vimoutiers, Orne – 8 April 1975, Paris) was a
French conservative politician of the
Fourth Republic, who served as
Prime Minister for a year from 1953 to 1954. During the middle of his tenure as Prime Minister Laniel was an unsuccessful candidate for the French Presidency, a post won by
René Coty. Laniel was born in
Vimoutiers, Orne, and died in Paris, France.