Free French foreign commissioner who chaired the first meeting of the Advisory Council for Italy, later ambassador in London
Born in Montpellier to a Protestant family and an agrégé in history, he joined the foreign service during the First World War. As secretary-general of the Conference of Ambassadors (1920–1931) he worked on enforcing the Treaty of Versailles, and he played a major role in the Locarno negotiations. Political director in 1937–1938, he opposed appeasement and after Munich was sent to Turkey as ambassador, where he brought about the 1939 Anglo-French-Turkish pact. Joining the Free French in 1943, he was commissioner for foreign affairs in the French Committee of National Liberation and the Provisional Government, and on 30 November 1943 in Algiers presided over the first formal meeting of the Advisory Council for Italy. As ambassador in London from 1944 to 1955 he pursued an Anglo-French alliance and opposed a federal Europe.
Activities and affiliations
-
1938–1940
France state institutionsAmbassador to Turkey
Diplomacy and international organization -
1943–1944
France state institutionsFree French Commissioner for Foreign Affairs
Diplomacy and international organization -
1944–1955
France state institutionsAmbassador to the United KingdomMain
Diplomacy and international organization -
1955–1956
France state institutionsSecretary-General of the Foreign Ministry
Diplomacy and international organization
Career Timeline
- 1920–1931Secretary-general of the Conference of Ambassadors
- 1937–1938Political director, Quai d'Orsay
- 1938–1940Ambassador to Turkey
- 1943–1944Free French commissioner for foreign affairs (CNF, CFLN, Provisional Government)
- 1943Chairs the first formal meeting of the Advisory Council for Italy
- 1944–1955Ambassador to the United Kingdom
- 1955–1956Secretary-general of the foreign ministry