François Georges-Picot | |
|---|---|
 François Georges-Picot, inL'Illustration, n° 3908, p. 82, 26 January 1918 | |
| Born | François Marie Denis Georges-Picot (1870-12-21)21 December 1870 |
| Died | 20 June 1951(1951-06-20) (aged 80) Paris,France |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, Diplomat |
| Known for | Sykes–Picot Agreement |
| Spouse | Marie Fouquet |
| Children | 3 |
| Father | Georges Picot |
| Relatives | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (great-nephew) Olga Georges-Picot (great-niece) |
François Marie Denis Georges-Picot (French pronunciation:[fʁɑ̃swaʒɔʁʒpiko]; 21 December 1870 – 20 June 1951) was a Frenchdiplomat and lawyer who negotiated theSykes–Picot Agreement with the British diplomatSir Mark Sykes between November 1915 and March 1916 before its signing on May 16, 1916.
It was a secret deal which proposed that – when thepartitioning of the Ottoman Empire began after a then theoretical victory of theTriple Entente –Britain and France, and laterRussia andItaly, would divide up the Arab territories between them.
Georges-Picot was the son ofhistorianGeorges Picot and great-uncle ofValéry Giscard d'Estaing. He married Marie Fouquet in Paris on 11 May 1897. They had three children: Jean Georges-Picot (b. Paris, 26 February 1898), Élisabeth Georges-Picot (1901–1906) and Sibylle Georges-Picot. His great-nieceOlga Georges-Picot appeared in the filmThe Day of the Jackal.[1]
Picot obtained a degree in Law and became a lawyer at theCourt of Appeal of Paris in 1893. He became a diplomat in 1895 and was attached to the Policy Directorate in 1896. He then became Secretary to the Ambassador inCopenhagen, then went toBeijing before being appointed the Consul-General of France inBeirut[2] shortly before theFirst World War.
At the outbreak of war, he went toCairo where he maintained good relations with theMaronites ofLebanon. In the spring of 1915 he was recalled to Paris by theMinistry of Foreign Affairs and International Development. As a member of theFrench Colonial Party he was an advocate for those who supported aFrench Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon in theSykes-Picot Agreement,[3] desiring an "integral Syria" fromAlexandretta in present-dayTurkey toSinai, and fromMosul to theMediterranean coast.
He was appointed High Commissioner inPalestine andSyria between 1917 and 1919, Minister Plenipotentiary in 1919, High Commissioner of the Republic inBulgaria in 1920, and ambassador toArgentina.
The majority of Arab countries regard Picot in a strongly negative light for his role in leading the 1916 execution of Arab intellectuals and his key role withSir Mark Sykes in theSykes-Picot Agreement.[4]
King Faisal I regarded Georges-Picot as a war criminal, for Georges-Picot wrote up papers that exposed Arab nationalists. This resulted in the named people being put to death.[5] Additionally, he indirectly abetted the Ottomans during theArmenian genocide when he withdrew theFrench Army, leaving the Armenians defenceless.[6]
Media related toFrançois Georges-Picot at Wikimedia Commons
