Delcassé, Théophile

Delcassé, Théophile (tāôfēl` dĕlkäsā`), 1852–1923, French foreign minister. He began his career as a political journalist and then turned to politics. First undersecretary and then minister for the colonies (1893–95), he became foreign minister in 1898 and remained in office until 1905. Commencing with the Fashoda Incident, in which his conciliatory attitude marked the start of a Franco-British rapprochement, he greatly influenced the alignment of European powers prior to World War I. The Entente Cordiale with Great Britain (1904), for which he was largely responsible, settled colonial differences between the two nations, particularly in Morocco and Egypt; France agreed to recognize the British occupation of Egypt in return for British acknowledgment of French interests in Morocco. This convention opened the way for the Triple Entente (1907) between Great Britain, France, and Russia (see Triple Alliance and Triple Entente). During Delcassé's tenure as foreign minister, Franco-Russian relations were cemented (1899) by the extension of the Franco-Russian alliance of 1894, and a secret nonaggression treaty was signed (1902) between France and Italy that neutralized Italian membership in the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1905, Delcassé proposed the establishment of a French protectorate over Morocco. Emperor William II of Germany visited Tangier and proclaimed his country's support of Moroccan independence. Delcassé urged his government to stand firm, but the fear of war with Germany caused the French to oppose Delcassé, and he resigned. Delcassé was later naval minister (1911–13) and foreign minister (1914–15).

Bibliography

See biography by C. W. Porter (1936); C. Andrew, Théophile Delcassé and the Making of the Entente Cordiale (1968).

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Delcassé, Théophile

(born March 1, 1852, Pamiers, France—died Feb. 22, 1923, Nice) French politician. A journalist, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1885 and served in cabinet posts from 1893. As foreign minister in six successive governments (1898–1905), he reached agreement with the British that led to the Entente Cordiale. Considered the principal architect of the new system of European alliances formed before World War I, he also paved the way for the Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907. He later served as minister of the marine (1911–13) and again as foreign minister (1914–15).

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Delcassé, Théophile 

Born Mar. 1, 1852, in Pamiers; died Feb. 22, 1923, in Nice. French statesman and diplomat.

In 1889, Delcassé was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, where he advanced because of his speeches on foreign policy. From May 30, 1894, through Jan. 13, 1895, Delcassé was minister of colonies, and he was active in broadening French colonial expansion in Africa. From 1898 through 1905 he was minister of foreign affairs. A master of secret diplomacy, Delcassé, in defending the interests of French imperialism, strove to expand the French colonial empire (in particular, the seizure of Morocco) without losing sight of an encounter with Germany, which he felt was unavoidable. With these goals in mind, Delcassé attempted to strengthen the Franco-Russian alliance and expand France’s political ties with Great Britain and, partially, with Italy. Delcassé actively facilitated the conclusion of the Anglo-French agreement of 1904, as well as agreements of 1900 and 1902 with Italy, which in fact detached Italy from the Triple Alliance. At the time of the first Moroccan crisis, Delcassé, an advocate of a hard line with regard to Germany, was compelled to resign (June 1905). From 1911 to the beginning of 1913, Delcassé was maritime minister, but he continued to exert an influence on the foreign policy of France, and in 1912 he signed a Russo-French maritime convention. In 1913, in order to strengthen the Franco-Russian alliance, Delcassé was sent as ambassador to St. Petersburg. At the beginning of World War I, Delcassé was appointed minister of foreign affairs,, but because of differences with members of the British government over general questions of how the war should be conducted he resigned in October 1915 and subsequently played no active political role.

A. Z. MANFRED