Famous French Diplomats

Romain Gary was a French novelist, diplomat, and film director of Jewish origin. He also served as an aviator during World War II. One of France’s most popular and prolific writers, he is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice. He had a troubled personal life and died of suicide in 1980.

French diplomat and bishop Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord is counted among the most pragmatic and prominent diplomats in European history. He served King Louis XVI and thereafter changed sides several times, serving at highest levels of successive French governments of Napoleon I, Louis XVIII and Louis Philippe I. He served as the first Prime Minister of France under Louis XVIII.

Ferdinand de Lesseps was a French diplomat who is credited with forming the Suez Canal Company. The construction of the Suez Canal, which joined the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, inspired the 1938 romantic drama film Suez where Lesseps was played by Tyrone Power. Lesseps has been portrayed by other actors in films and TV mini-series as well.

François-René de Chateaubriand was a French writer, diplomat, historian, and politician. Chateaubriand had a major influence on 19th-century French literature. François-René de Chateaubriand is also remembered for defending the Catholic faith by writing The Genius of Christianity when most intellectuals were turning against the Church. Chateaubriand was a food enthusiast; it is believed that Chateaubriand steak is named after him.

Son of a brandy merchant, French economist Jean Monnet is known as The Father of Europe. He was one of the first to propose a common European market, leading six countries, including France, to form the European Coal and Steel Community, which eventually led to the modern-day European Union.

Though he initially studied law, Carlo Buonaparte quit without a degree to take charge of his inheritance after his father’s death. He later served Pasquale Paoli. However, following the French conquest of Corsica, he completed his legal education. He is best remembered as the father of Napoleon Bonaparte.

A qualified lawyer, Joseph de Maistre was also a skilled diplomat, moralist, and author. Part of the Savoy Senate, he was exiled in Switzerland after Napoleon’s invasion and later also served in Russia and an envoy of the Sardinian king. A staunch Roman Catholic, he was against liberal and scientific beliefs.

Chevalier d'Éon not just fought for France in the Seven Years' War but was also a spy. Interestingly, he led the first half of his life as a man and the second half as a woman. In his unpublished memoir, he claimed he was a woman raised as a man.

Arthur de Gobineau was a French aristocrat best remembered for his efforts to legitimize racism. He cited scientific racist theory as legitimate evidence in an attempt to coerce people into believing that the Aryan race is superior. He was also known as a novelist, travel writer, and diplomat among his contemporaries. 

Born into a family of farmers, Paul Claudel grew up to join the foreign service of France, thus serving in places such as the US, China, and South America. While he traveled the world as a French ambassador to French ambassador, he also enriched French literature with his poems, essays, and plays.

Bernard Kouchner is a French politician and doctor who co-founded Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). He once worked as a physician for the Red Cross and was a humanitarian volunteer during the Siege of Naba’a. As a politician, he was the French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is a recipient of the Victor Gollancz Prize.

Jacques Pierre Brissot was a French journalist and publisher. He was one of the most important members of the Girondins, who played a prominent role during the French Revolution. Brissot is also credited with founding the Society of the Friends of the Blacks, an abolitionist society, which aimed at abolishing the institution of slavery.

Once the prime minister of France, Jules Ferry was a Moderate Republican leader, who is remembered for his efforts in the French colonial expansion. He followed in his father’s footsteps to become a lawyer but gained fame as a political critic. He later became increasingly unpopular due to expenditures incurred in wars. 

Widely known as the illegitimate son of Napoleon Bonaparte and his Polish noblewoman mistress, Countess Marie Walewska, Alexandre Colonna-Walewski was a French diplomat and politician. Apart from serving as a foreign minister, he is also believed to have collaborated with Alexandre Dumas on an opera.

At 37, Laurent Fabius was the youngest prime minister of the Fifth Republic of France. He has also held important ministries such as finance and foreign affairs. He is known for making 195 countries sign the first universal pact at the Paris Climate Change Conference, as a UN Environment Patron.

François Guizot was a French historian and statesman. He was a key figure in French politics in the years leading to the Revolution of 1848. After serving under the "citizen king" Louis Philippe in several roles, he was made the Prime Minister of France in 1847. He played a critical role in expanding public education. 

Edmond-Charles Genêt was a French diplomat sent to the United States of America during the French Revolution. His activities upon his arrival in USA led to the major political incident which came to be known as the Citizen Genêt Affair. He married the daughter of an American politician and became a gentleman farmer. He never returned to France. 

Croix de Guerre-winning French politician André Bettencourt was initially part of the pro-fascist and anti-communist group La Cagoule, which was financially supported by L'Oréal founder Eugène Schueller. He later married Schueller’s daughter, Liliane. Though he initially wrote for Nazi propagandist newspapers, he later joined the anti-Nazi resistance.

Flemish diplomat Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq served several Austrian emperors, including Ferdinand I. He was an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, present-day Turkey, and wrote extensively on Turkish life and culture. His final years were spent at the service of Elizabeth of Austria. He also collected manuscripts and curios.

Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, duc de Richelieu was a French statesman. He served as an officer in the Russian Imperial Army during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. He was a royalist and actively supported monarchy during the Bourbon Restoration, following which he became the prime minister of France. He was married to Alexandrine Rosalie Sabine de Rochechouart-Faudoas.  

Maurice Couve de Murville was a French diplomat and politician who served as the prime minister of France from 1968 to 1969. Prior to this, he was the minister of foreign affairs from 1958 to 1968. He played a key role in the critical Franco-German treaty of cooperation and laid the foundation for the Paris-Bonn axis as the foreign minister.  

Albert, 4th duc de Broglie was a 19th-century French monarchist politician, diplomat, and writer. He served as the prime minister of France for two non-consecutive terms. The eldest son of Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie, he succeeded his father as the 4th duc de Broglie in 1870.  He was appointed the prime minister for the first time in May 1873. 

Maurice-Georges Paléologue was a French diplomat and historian. He was also an essayist of great caliber. He played a pivotal role in the French entry into the First World War. At that time, he was the French ambassador to Russia and was in support of the Russian mobilization against Germany. He was also a published author of novels and essays. 

Philippe de Commines was a writer and diplomat who worked in the courts of Burgundy and France. Modern historians often call him "the first truly modern writer". He began his career as a soldier and later became a knight. He composed the Mémoires, which was posthumously published in three segments (1524-28) several years after his death in 1511.