Léon Marcel Isidore Geoffray (1852–1927) was a French

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and was later

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Biography

Léon Marcel Geoffray Isidore was born in

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, on the Rive Droite, Right Bank. It is adjacent to Auteuil, Paris, Auteuil to the southwest, and Chaillot to the northeast. It is home to many ...

on 1 October 1852 to Pierre-Joseph Geoffray (1804-1886), and Juliette (called Julie) Wild Josephine de La Martinière. Léon and his brother Marcel were educated in Passy by their mother, and a tutor. Leon Geoffray studied law at the Faculte de Droit in Paris, by the age of twenty five he had obtained a degree of

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

, before entering the diplomatic service. He was at first attached to the legal department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1877, then to the embassy in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

from 1877 to 1879, and back to the legal department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1879). He rose through the ranks: senior clerk (1883); editor (1886); Secretary of the Embassy (1891). Geoffray was appointed Senior Advisor to the embassy in London in 1895, with the rank of first class secretary, and minister plenipotentiary in 1896. He became passionately committed to healing Anglo-French relations and desired to achieve an alliance between England and France. He continued to work on maintaining Anglo-French relations up to his departure from London in 1908. Geoffray was Consul General in Cairo from 1908 to 1910, and in July 1910 Ambassador of France to Madrid, remaining in Spain until dismissed in October 1917. On 27 November 1912, he and Spanish García Prieto signed the

Treaty between France and Spain regarding Morocco The Treaty between France and Spain regarding Morocco was signed on 27 November 1912 by French and Spanish heads of state, establishing ''de jure'' a Spanish Zone of influence in northern and southern Morocco, both zones being '' de facto'' unde ...

, which established ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' Spanish zones of influence in northern and southern

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, both zones already under '' de facto'' Spanish control, while France remained the primary

colonial power Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an imperialist project, colonialism can also take ...

as the sole non-Moroccan state signatory of the 1912 Treaty of Fes.
Treaty Between France and Spain Regarding Morocco
', in: The American Journal of International Law, vol.7, no.2, Apr. 1913 Leon Geoffray died in Paris on 25 December 1927.

Personal

He was the owner of the castle of Vaulx (17th century) in

Saint-Julien-de-Civry Saint-Julien-de-Civry () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Geography The Arconce forms part of the commune's northwestern border. The village lies on the left bank of the ...

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is B ...

, and instructed the landscaper Achille Duchêne to develop the park in 1900. He married Louise Marcotte Quivières, with whom he had two sons, Pierre Geoffray (1884-1975) and Edme Geoffray (1886-1926).

Honours

King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

granted him the Collar of the Order of Charles III. and

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

created him an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geoffray, Leon Diplomats from Paris 1852 births 1927 deaths Burials at Passy Cemetery Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order 19th-century French diplomats 20th-century French diplomats Ambassadors of France to Spain