Sir Francis Edmund Hugh Elliot (24 March 1851 – 20 January 1940) was a British diplomat who was envoy to Greece for 14 years.

Early life

Francis Elliot was the only son of Sir Henry Elliot, also a diplomat, and grandson of the 2nd Earl of Minto. He was at school at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and coxed the school eight at

Henley Henley may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Henley, Dorset, a location * Henley, Gloucestershire, a location * Henley-on-Thames, a town in South Oxfordshire, England ** Henley (UK Parliament constituency) ** Henley Rural District, a former ru ...

in 1866, 1867 and 1868, when Eton won the Ladies' Plate each year. In his last year, 1869, he rowed bow and Eton again won the Ladies' Plate. Elliot went on to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

where he read

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and rowed in the Balliol eight which went Head of the River. He also rowed in an Oxford-Etonian eight which won the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowin ...

at Henley in 1871.

Career

Elliot joined the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

and was appointed Attaché at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

in 1874. He served as 3rd Secretary at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and 2nd Secretary at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

before being appointed Secretary of

Legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legations ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

in 1890. He moved to

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

as Agent and

Consul-General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in 1895. In 1903 he returned to Athens as

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

, On the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Elliot tried to persuade King Constantine to join the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, but he insisted on neutrality although the Prime Minister,

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movem ...

, was in favour of joining the Allies. Events in the Balkans forced the Allies to land troops at Salonika (

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

) with Venizelos' permission, and in August 1916, followers of Venizelos set up a provisional state in northern Greece with Allied support with the aim of reclaiming the lost regions in Macedonia, effectively splitting Greece into two entities. After intense diplomatic negotiations and an armed confrontation in Athens between Allied and royalist forces (an incident known as ''

Noemvriana The ''Noemvriana'' ( el, Νοεμβριανά, "November Events") of , or the Greek Vespers, was a political dispute which led to an armed confrontation in Athens between the royalist government of Greece and the forces of the Allies over th ...

'') the king abdicated and left Greece in June 1917, and Elliot left at the same time "on leave", but he was replaced shortly afterwards by

Lord Granville Earl Granville is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now held by members of the Leveson-Gower family. First creation The first creation came in the Pee ...

who had already been accredited to Venizelos' provisional government at Salonika. Elliot then served as Deputy Controller of the Foreign Trade Department at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

until he retired in 1919.

Family

In 1881 Francis Elliot married Henrietta, daughter of

Clare Ford Sir Francis Clare Ford (4 June 1828 – 31 January 1899) was an English diplomat from London. Ford was born at was born at 32 Upper Brook Street, London, and was the son of writer Richard Ford and his wife, Harriet. He was commissioned a lieute ...

who had been his chief in Rio de Janeiro. They had four daughters, the second of whom, Frances Clara, married Alban Young who had been Francis Elliot's junior in Athens.

Honours

Francis Elliot was appointed CMG in January 1904, knighted KCMG in June of the same year and promoted to GCMG in the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

of 1917. He was given the additional knighthood of GCVO on the occasion of a

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

to England by

George I of Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...

in 1905.

References

ELLIOT, Sir Francis (Edmund Hugh)
''Who Was Who'', 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007
Obituary: Sir Francis Elliot: Distinguished Diplomatic Career
''The Times'', London, 22 January 1940, page 9

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Francis Edmund Hugh 1851 births 1940 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English male rowers Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Greece Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Greece in World War I