Charles François Ernest Brune was born on 31 July 1891 in Arbois, Jura.

Brune was Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones from 7 February 1950 to 11 August 1951.

[1] He held this post in the governments of Georges Bidault, Henri Queuille and René Pleven.

[2] In the Pinay government Brune and the Minister of Justice, Léon Martinaud-Déplat, were intensely anti-communist and pursued repressive policies.

[3] In 1953 Brune gave the prefect Jean Vaujour responsibility for public security in Algeria, asking him to work with Senator Henri Borgeaud (1895–1963), one of the largest French landowners in the colony and an opponent of all reforms.