Joseph Louis Anne Marie Charles Avenol (; 9 June 1879 – 2 September 1952) was a French diplomat. He served as the second

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

from 3 July 1933 to 31 August 1940. He was preceded by Sir

Eric Drummond James Eric Drummond, 7th Earl of Perth, (17 August 1876 – 15 December 1951), was a British politician and diplomat who was the first Secretary-General of the League of Nations (1920–1933). Quiet and unassuming, he succeeded in building an e ...

of the United Kingdom, who was general secretary between 1920 and 1933. He was succeeded by the Irish diplomat

Seán Lester Seán Lester (28 September 1888 – 13 June 1959) was an Irish diplomat who was the last secretary-general of the League of Nations from 31 August 1940 to 18 April 1946. Early life He was born in County Antrim, the son of a Protestant grocer. A ...

, who was general secretary between 1940 and 1946, when the League dissolved.James Barros, ''Betrayal from Within: Joseph Avenol, Secretary-General of the League of Nations, 1933-1940'' (1969).

League of Nations

Avenol was sent to the League of Nations from the French Treasury Department in 1922 to handle the League's finances. He was under secretary-general in 1933, when Eric Drummond resigned. He became secretary-general because the first secretary-general had been British and there had been a private agreement at Versailles that the next would be French. Avenol was accused of using the League as an extension of the French Foreign Office in its policy of

appeasement Appeasement in an international context is a diplomatic policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power in order to avoid conflict. The term is most often applied to the foreign policy of the UK governm ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Avenol took office shortly after Japan had left the League. Shortly thereafter Germany also left, and Argentina resumed full membership. He worked to prevent action or criticism of those countries in an effort to lure them back to the League. When Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, Avenol's main concern was to keep the Italians in the organization, not to protect Ethiopia. In 1939 he encouraged Finland to file a complaint so that the League could expel the Soviet Union. Later Avenol described "a new France, which was to be given a new soul to work in collaboration with Germany and Italy and keep the British out of Europe". He wrote to Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...

to affirm his loyalty to the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

Last years and death

In the meantime, he had fired most of the League's staff, including all of the British employees. When

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 opposin ...

started on 1 September 1939, Avenol had decided to leave

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and the League of Nations for good on 31 August 1940. His services were not accepted by the Vichy government, and he was forced to flee back into Switzerland on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

1943 to avoid getting arrested or killed by the Germans. He died at his home in

Duillier Duillier () is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Duillier is first mentioned in 1145 as ''Duelliei''. Geography Duillier has an area, , of . Of this area, or 75.2% is used for agricultural pu ...

, Switzerland, in 1952, aged 73. When

replaced him as secretary-general, the League had only 100 employees, including guards and janitors, of its original 700. Lester managed to keep the League's technical and humanitarian programs in limited operation for the duration of the war. In 1946 he turned over the League's assets and functions to the newly-established

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Honours

In 1921, he was created an honorary

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

Notes

References

* Avenol, Joseph. "The Future of the League of Nations." ''International Affairs'' 13.2 (1934): 143-158
online
*Barros, James, ''Betrayal from Within: Joseph Avenol, Secretary-General of the League of Nations, 1933-1940''. New Haven, Ct.: Yale University Press, 1969. . *Marbeau Michel, ''La Société des Nations. Vers un monde multilatéral : (1919-1946)'', Presses Universitaires François Rabelais, mars 2017, 320 p. *Marbeau Michel, "Réflexions sur un haut fonctionnaire français devenu Secrétaire général de la Société des Nations", ''Relations internationales'', n°75, automne 1993, pp. 345-361.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avenol, Joseph Louis Anne 1879 births 1952 deaths People from Deux-Sèvres Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Secretaries General of the League of Nations