Pierre Paul Cambon (French pronunciation:[pjɛʁpɔlkɑ̃bɔ̃]; 20 January 1843 – 29 May 1924) was a French diplomat and brother ofJules Cambon.
Cambon was born and died in Paris. He was called to the Parisian bar, and became private secretary toJules Ferry in thepréfecture of theSeine. After ten years of administrative work in France as secretary ofpréfecture, and then as prefect successively of thedépartements ofAube (1872),Doubs (1876),Nord (1877–1882), he exchanged into the diplomatic service, being nominatedFrench minister plenipotentiary in Tunis, fulfilling two terms asResident-General.[1]
In 1886, Cambon became Frenchambassador toMadrid; was transferred toConstantinople in 1890; and in 1898 toLondon, where he served until 1920.[2] In London, Cambon quickly became an important figure by helping to negotiate theEntente Cordiale between Britain and France in 1904 and serving as the French representative at the London Conference that resolved theBalkan Wars between 1912 and 1913.
Although Cambon was Ambassador to Britain for more than two decades, he did not speak English and chose not to learn. On the contrary, he insisted that every remark be translated into French, including simple statements such as 'yes'.Christopher Clark notes that Cambon firmly believed "that French was the only language capable of articulating rational thought" and "objected to the foundation of French schools in Britain on the eccentric grounds that French people raised in Britain tended to end up mentally retarded".[3]
Upon the outbreak of theFirst World War, Cambon helped secure British intervention on the French side. He was also the French signatory to theSykes-Picot Agreement.
He was decorated with theGrand Cross of the Légion d'honneur and became a member of theFrench Academy of Sciences.[1] He was anHonorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath and anHonorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
In 2014, he was portrayed in the BBC docu-drama mini series "37 Days" by the French actor François-Éric Gendron. The mini series depicted behind closed doors story of the events which led to the start of the First World War.[4]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cambon, Pierre Paul".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Media related toPaul Cambon at Wikimedia Commons
