Quirin Marie Hubert Guerin (25 January 1896 – 17 December 1986) was a French diplomat and military officer. He served as an ambassador to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(1949 – 1955),

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(1946 – 1949) and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(1945 – 1946), and represented the exiled

French Committee of National Liberation The French Committee of National Liberation (french: Comité français de Libération nationale) was a provisional government of Free France formed by the French generals Henri Giraud and Charles de Gaulle to provide united leadership, organi ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Early career

Before entering France's diplomatic corps, Guerin served in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

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 ...

. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his service and shortly after the war was appointed as a ''Chevalier'' of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. After the war he joined the diplomatic service where he was promoted through the ranks until, in 1943, he joined the exiled anti-Nazi

in Algiers, led by Charles de Gaulle. In 1944, he was appointed as the Committee's representative to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. According to historian Peter C. Kent, the Vatican's receipt of Guerin as an envoy at the time of the Allied landings in France marked "a striking deviation from traditional Vatican practice which would not normally give official recognition to wartime changes of territory and government".

Career as an ambassador

Guerin was appointed as France's ambassador to the Netherlands in 1945. In 1946, he was appointed to Brazil. During his tenure in

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 ...

, he was made a ''Commandeur'' of the

. In 1949, he was appointed as France's ambassador to Canada, a position which he held until his retirement in 1955. At the time of Guerin's departure, he was the longest serving diplomat in Ottawa, entitling him to the post of

Dean of the diplomatic corps The diplomatic corps (french: corps diplomatique) is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission (amb ...

. He was given the Keys to the city of Ottawa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerin, Hubert 20th-century French diplomats French Army officers French military personnel of World War I Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Ambassadors of France to Canada Ambassadors of France to Brazil Ambassadors of France to the Netherlands 1896 births 1986 deaths French expatriates in Italy