George Clerk (diplomat)
Encyclopedia
Sir
George Russell Clerk PC GCMG
CB
(29 November 1874 – 18 June 1951) was a British
diplomat
and Privy Counsellor who ended his career as Ambassador to France from 1934 to 1937, after seven years as Ambassador to Turkey and one as Ambassador to Belgium. His name is pronounced as if spelt Clark.
CB (1835–1908), a Groom in Waiting
to King Edward VII
, Clerk was the grandson and namesake of Sir George Russell Clerk
GCSI
, a civil servant in British India who became Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces
, Governor of Bombay, and Under-Secretary of State for India
.
Clerk was educated at Eton
and New College, Oxford
. At Eton he was a contemporary of Prince Alexander of Teck
, later Governor-General of South Africa and of Canada, Geoffrey Dawson
, later editor of The Times
, and the author Maurice Baring
.
as Secretary to a Special Mission to the courts of Europe to announce the accession of King Edward VII
. He went to Addis Ababa
in 1903 as Assistant in HM Agency, where he became Acting Agent and Consul-General from 1903–04 and Chargé d'Affaires
at the British Legation in Abyssinia
, 1906–07. While in Abyssinia, Clerk worked to curb the excesses of the slave trade
in the border regions of Sudan
and Uganda
and gained the nickname of 'the Buffalo'. In 1907 he was recalled to London
as an Assistant Clerk in the Foreign Office, and in 1910 went to Constantinople
as First Secretary
in HM Embassy to the Ottoman Empire
, becoming Senior Clerk in 1913 and Acting Counsellor in 1917, when he was knighted.
In the aftermath of the First World War, Clerk was very sympathetic to the cause of the national minorities of the former Austria–Hungary and to the liberal ideals associated with the journal The New Europe. In 1919 he was appointed as Private Secretary
to the Acting Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
, giving him an opportunity to influence the face of the new Europe when they embarked on a mission to Hungary. Later in 1919 he was sent as First Minister to Czechoslovakia
, serving also as Consul-General there from 1921 to 1926. As British minister in Prague
, Clerk pursued his ambition to support the Czechs and make Prague a centre of British influence. Although his policy ended in failure, Clerk had a greater sympathy for the Czechs and Slovaks than any of his successors.
His first appointment as an Ambassador came in 1926, when he was appointed as head of mission to Turkey
, and he remained there until 1933, when he took up a brief posting as ambassador at Brussels
and Minister Plenipotentiary to Luxembourg
, and finally in April 1934 was appointed as British ambassador at Paris.
There were mixed views on Clerk's appointment to Paris in the troubled days of 1934, following the sudden retirement of his predecessor Lord Tyrrell on the grounds of ill health. Lord Vansittart
described him as "one of those coming men who never quite arrive". The Liberal leader Sir Archibald Sinclair
called Clerk "a man ripe for a mighty enterprise", while Lord Derby
stated that it was not the first time Clerk had been sent to a country with difficult times ahead of it and he had always come through with flying colours. However, Sir Warren Fisher
, head of the Civil Service, wrote to Vansittart Fisher urged the appointment of Sir Eric Phipps
, who in fact later succeeded Clerk in Paris, while after Clerk's appointment the disappointed Phipps noted that "G. C. will doubtless be a great success, but it must take many months of groping, since he has never served a day in Paris!"
At the time of the Italian invasion of Abyssinia
of October 1935 to May 1936, Clerk had only limited success in urging Pierre Laval
, the French Foreign Minister
, away from a policy of benevolent neutrality, and was disappointed by French expressions of sympathy for Italy.
In August 1936, Clerk warned Yvon Delbos
of the dangers of French intervention in the Spanish Civil War
.
In 1937, Clerk finally retired from the Diplomatic Service.
, Turf
, and Beefsteak
clubs. In his retirement, he became an honorary Fellow
of New College
and Vice-President of the Royal Geographical Society
. He was also Chairman of the British Film Institute
from March 1938 to April 1939. At the time of his death his address was 5 Egerton Place, London SW3.
A historian of the British mission in Paris has described Clerk as "conventionally good-looking, monocle
d".
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
George Russell Clerk PC GCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(29 November 1874 – 18 June 1951) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and Privy Counsellor who ended his career as Ambassador to France from 1934 to 1937, after seven years as Ambassador to Turkey and one as Ambassador to Belgium. His name is pronounced as if spelt Clark.
Early life
The son of General Sir Godfrey Clerk KCVORoyal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
CB (1835–1908), a Groom in Waiting
Groom in Waiting
The office of Groom in Waiting was a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, which in earlier times was usually held by more than one person at a time – in the late Middle Ages there might be dozens of persons with the rank...
to King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, Clerk was the grandson and namesake of Sir George Russell Clerk
George Russell Clerk
Sir George Russell Clerk, GCSI, KCB was a British civil servant in India.Like all civil servants until the introduction of Competitive examinations in the 1850s, Clerk had studied at Haileybury in Hertfordshire, being posted to Bengal as a writer in 1817.Early in his career he worked in the...
GCSI
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
, a civil servant in British India who became Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces
North-Western Provinces
The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India which succeeded the Ceded and Conquered Provinces and existed in one form or another from 1836 until 1902, when it became the Agra Province within the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh .-Area:The province included all...
, Governor of Bombay, and Under-Secretary of State for India
Under-Secretary of State for India
This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the period of British rule between 1866 and 1948, and for Burma from 1858-1948....
.
Clerk was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
. At Eton he was a contemporary of Prince Alexander of Teck
Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone
Major-General Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone , was a close relative of the shared British and Canadian royal family, as well as a British military commander and major-general who served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, the...
, later Governor-General of South Africa and of Canada, Geoffrey Dawson
Geoffrey Dawson
George Geoffrey Dawson was editor of The Times from 1912 to 1919 and again from 1923 until 1941. His original last name was Robinson, but he changed it in 1917.-Early life:...
, later editor of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, and the author Maurice Baring
Maurice Baring
Maurice Baring was an English man of letters, known as a dramatist, poet, novelist, translator and essayist, and also as a travel writer and war correspondent...
.
Career
Clerk was appointed a clerk in the Foreign Office in 1899, and in 1901 was appointed an acting Third SecretaryDiplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.-Ranks:...
as Secretary to a Special Mission to the courts of Europe to announce the accession of King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
. He went to Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
in 1903 as Assistant in HM Agency, where he became Acting Agent and Consul-General from 1903–04 and Chargé d'Affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
at the British Legation in Abyssinia
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...
, 1906–07. While in Abyssinia, Clerk worked to curb the excesses of the slave trade
History of slavery
The history of slavery covers slave systems in historical perspective in which one human being is legally the property of another, can be bought or sold, is not allowed to escape and must work for the owner without any choice involved...
in the border regions of Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and gained the nickname of 'the Buffalo'. In 1907 he was recalled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as an Assistant Clerk in the Foreign Office, and in 1910 went to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
as First Secretary
Diplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.-Ranks:...
in HM Embassy to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, becoming Senior Clerk in 1913 and Acting Counsellor in 1917, when he was knighted.
In the aftermath of the First World War, Clerk was very sympathetic to the cause of the national minorities of the former Austria–Hungary and to the liberal ideals associated with the journal The New Europe. In 1919 he was appointed as Private Secretary
Private Secretary
In the United Kingdom government, a Private Secretary is a civil servant in a Department or Ministry, responsible to the Secretary of State or Minister...
to the Acting Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
, giving him an opportunity to influence the face of the new Europe when they embarked on a mission to Hungary. Later in 1919 he was sent as First Minister to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, serving also as Consul-General there from 1921 to 1926. As British minister in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Clerk pursued his ambition to support the Czechs and make Prague a centre of British influence. Although his policy ended in failure, Clerk had a greater sympathy for the Czechs and Slovaks than any of his successors.
His first appointment as an Ambassador came in 1926, when he was appointed as head of mission to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and he remained there until 1933, when he took up a brief posting as ambassador at Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Minister Plenipotentiary to Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, and finally in April 1934 was appointed as British ambassador at Paris.
There were mixed views on Clerk's appointment to Paris in the troubled days of 1934, following the sudden retirement of his predecessor Lord Tyrrell on the grounds of ill health. Lord Vansittart
Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart
Robert Gilbert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart GCB, GCMG, PC, MVO was a senior British diplomat in the period before and during the Second World War...
described him as "one of those coming men who never quite arrive". The Liberal leader Sir Archibald Sinclair
Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso
Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso KT, CMG, PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party....
called Clerk "a man ripe for a mighty enterprise", while Lord Derby
Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby
Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby KG, GCB, GCVO, TD, PC, KGStJ, JP , known as Lord Stanley from 1893 to 1908, was a British soldier, Conservative politician, diplomat and racehorse owner. He was twice Secretary of State for War and also served as British Ambassador to...
stated that it was not the first time Clerk had been sent to a country with difficult times ahead of it and he had always come through with flying colours. However, Sir Warren Fisher
Warren Fisher
Sir Warren Fisher was a British civil servant.Fisher was born in Croydon, London on 22 September 1879. He was educated at the Dragon School , Winchester College and Hertford College, Oxford University...
, head of the Civil Service, wrote to Vansittart Fisher urged the appointment of Sir Eric Phipps
Eric Phipps
Sir Eric Clare Edmund Phipps, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, PC was a British diplomat.-Family and early life:Phipps was the son of Sir Constantine Phipps, later British Ambassador to Belgium, and his wife Maria Jane...
, who in fact later succeeded Clerk in Paris, while after Clerk's appointment the disappointed Phipps noted that "G. C. will doubtless be a great success, but it must take many months of groping, since he has never served a day in Paris!"
At the time of the Italian invasion of Abyssinia
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
of October 1935 to May 1936, Clerk had only limited success in urging Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...
, the French Foreign Minister
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for...
, away from a policy of benevolent neutrality, and was disappointed by French expressions of sympathy for Italy.
In August 1936, Clerk warned Yvon Delbos
Yvon Delbos
Yvon Delbos was a French Radical-Socialist Party politician and minister.Delbos was born in Thonac, Dordogne, Aquitaine, entered a career as a journalist, and became a member of the Radical-Socialist Party...
of the dangers of French intervention in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
In 1937, Clerk finally retired from the Diplomatic Service.
Honours
- Companion of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, 1908 - Companion of the Order of the BathOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, 1914 - KnightKnightA knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
of the Order of St Michael and St George, 1917 - Member of the Privy Council, 1926
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, 1929
- Grand Cross, Order of St Stanislaus, Russia
- Grand Cross, Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
- Grand Cross, Order of the White Lion of BohemiaOrder of the White LionThe Order of the White Lion is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners....
, Czechoslovakia - Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and LazarusOrder of Saints Maurice and LazarusThe Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus is an order of chivalry awarded by the House of Savoy, the heads of which were formerly Kings of Italy...
, Italy
Private life
Clerk was a member of the AthenæumAthenaeum Club, London
The Athenaeum Club, usually just referred to as the Athenaeum, is a notable London club with its Clubhouse located at 107 Pall Mall, London, England, at the corner of Waterloo Place....
, Turf
Turf Club (Gentlemen's Club)
-External links:* - official website *...
, and Beefsteak
Beefsteak Club
Beefsteak Club is the name, nickname and historically common misnomer applied by sources to several 18th and 19th century male dining clubs that celebrated the beefsteak as a symbol of patriotic and often Whig concepts of liberty and prosperity....
clubs. In his retirement, he became an honorary Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of New College
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
and Vice-President of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
. He was also Chairman of the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
from March 1938 to April 1939. At the time of his death his address was 5 Egerton Place, London SW3.
A historian of the British mission in Paris has described Clerk as "conventionally good-looking, monocle
Monocle
A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the vision in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string. The other end of the string is then connected to the wearer's clothing to avoid losing...
d".