His father, Georges Bourgès, was a maritime engineering executive, and his mother, Geneviève Maunoury, belonged to a family with a notable political legacy.

During the war, Bourgès-Maunoury joined the French Resistance, working with the X-Libre network alongside figures like Jacques Chaban-Delmas and Félix Gaillard.

These included Minister of National Defence (1956–1957), where he supported a military solution to the Algerian War and opposed the withdrawal from Port Said following the Suez Crisis.

As President of the Council of Ministers from June to November 1957, Bourgès-Maunoury secured the ratification of the Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community.

Working with Shimon Peres, then Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Defense, he facilitated the acquisition of the first Dimona nuclear reactor and military equipment, including the Dassault Mystère IV fighter jet.