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Count Stanislas Marie Joseph Antoine Ostroróg (20 May 1897 – 27 September 1960) was a French diplomat from a noble
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
family, serving in several Asian countries over the course of his career. His father Count
Leon Walerian Ostroróg
Leon Walerian Ostroróg (1867 in Paris – 1932 in London), was an Islamic scholar, jurist, adviser to the Ottoman government and émigré in Istanbul. He was also a writer and translator.
Early life
Ostroróg was the third son of Count Stani ...
(1867–1932), a Polish émigré in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, was an advisor to the Ottoman Ministry of Justice during the
Second Constitutional Period (1908–1918). His mother Jeanne-Marie Lorando (1870–1932), was the daughter of a notable
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
ine family of Italian and French descent.
Early life
Ostroróg was the grandson of the noted Victorian photographer, Count
Stanisław Julian Ostroróg
Count Stanisław Julian Ostroróg (1836– 31 May 1890) was an exiled Polish nobleman and Crimean War veteran. He later became known as an early professional portrait photographer who created photogravures, under the professional name of '' ...
, through his third son,
Count Leon, a jurist and Koranic law scholar. He was born in the Ottoman Empire in 1897. He studied in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and returned to
Kandilli on the
Bosphorus
The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
after finishing school. He would meet the author
Claude Farrère
Claude Farrère, pseudonym of Frédéric-Charles Bargone (27 April 1876, in Lyon – 21 June 1957, in Paris), was a French Navy officer and writer. Many of his novels are based in exotic locations such as Istanbul, Saigon, or Nagasaki.
One of ...
in Turkey. Ostroróg wanted to be an author and would later use his writing skills in his diplomatic career. As the
First World War
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 ...
broke out, he returned to France to look for his father and brother. He would find his father in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
instead. Travelling between Kandilli and France, he was pushed by his father to return to school. He graduated from the (Free School of Political Science) and was admitted to the French foreign service by a stiff entrance exam in 1927.
Meanwhile, his uncle,
Stanisław under the pseudonym, ''Walery'', had a brilliant photographic career in Paris, photographing the gaiety of the city, including
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
.
Diplomatic career
Ostroróg was admitted as a permanent member of the
Cercle de l'Union interalliée in July 1936.
Ostroróg had served as Assistant High Commissioner in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
in the 1930s; he then served as First Secretary in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
until 1940 and then served
Vichy France
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 ter ...
in the Far Eastern Department before rallying to the
Free French
Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
. “…he was often confused with his brother who was rumoured to be a Vichy agent.”
Ostroróg was a Minister Plenipotentiary, assigned as General Delegate and Plenipotentiary from France to the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
in 1945. He is also listed by the US State Department as “French Diplomatic and Political Adviser in the Levant” in 1945.
After his credentials were withdrawn by the Vichy Government, he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
on 21 November 1946, becoming the French Ambassador to Dublin on 11 August 1950.
He was involved in returning the remains of Irish poet
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
from France to Ireland in 1948; in a letter to the European director of the Foreign Ministry in Paris "Ostrorog tells how Yeats’s son Michael sought official help in locating the poet’s remains. Neither Michael Yeats nor
Seán MacBride
Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish Clann na Poblachta politician who served as Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, Leader of Clann na Poblachta from 1946 to 1965 and Chief of Staff of the IRA from 193 ...
, the Irish foreign minister who organised the ceremony, wanted to know the details of how the remains were collected, Ostrorog notes. He repeatedly urges caution and discretion and says the Irish ambassador in Paris should not be informed." Yeats' body was exhumed in 1946 and the remains were moved to on ossuary and mixed with other remains. The French Foreign Ministry authorized Ostrorog to secretly cover the cost of repatriation from his slush fund. Authorities were worried about the fact that the much-loved poet's remains were thrown into a communal grave, causing embarrassment for both Ireland and France.
Service in India
Ostroróg spent a decade in government service in India, where he oversaw the return of the
French Establishments to India.
He was appointed Ambassador of France to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
on 26 June 1951, a position he held until his death in 1960.
In a diplomatic correspondence from early 1954, Ostroróg pressed his government "to put an end to the long reprieve of French India, without delay if one wants to proceed with honor"; by this point in time, it became clear that the fate of the French establishments were at the whim of the
government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
, which desired a united India within a short period of time. The
Treaty of Cession that returned the Establishments to Indian sovereignty would be signed by Ostroróg and
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
on 28 May 1956.
As the French Ambassador to India, he helped establish the
French Institute of Pondicherry
The French Institute of Pondicherry (french: Institut français de Pondichéry) UMIFRE 21 is a French research centre in Puducherry, India, under the joint supervision of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French National Centre ...
in 1958, and laid the cornerstone for what would become the
in 1959.
Later life
In 1960, he was recalled to Paris by minister
Maurice Couve de Murville
Jacques-Maurice Couve de Murville (; 24 January 1907 – 24 December 1999) was a French diplomat and politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1968 and Prime Minister from 1968 to 1969 under the presidency of General de Gaull ...
; working in the offices of the
Quai d'Orsay
The Quai d'Orsay ( , ) is a quay in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the left bank of the Seine opposite the Place de la Concorde. The Quai becomes the Quai Anatole-France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai Branly west of t ...
, he was felled by a
cerebral haemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
. Unlike the rest of his family members that are buried in Turkey, he would be buried in France.
[
A modern history book was published in French under his name in 1991; ''Courrier d'Orient : dépêches diplomatiques / Stanislas Ostroróg'' (Courrier d'Orient: diplomatic dispatches) with additional info by Yves Plattard.
]
Honours
*Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur
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 B ...
on 10 January 1936.
* Officer de la Legion d’Honneur on 14 August 1946
* Honorary D.Litt.
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
from the National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...
(1951)
* Commandeur de la Legion d'honneur on 29 July 1955.[
]
Notes and references
External links
* https://gw.geneanet.org/pierfit?lang=fr&p=stanislas&n=ostrorog Pierfit: Ostroróg's Genealogy with photographs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostroróg, Stanislas
Stanislas
French people of Polish descent
French people of Italian descent
Polish nobility
Ambassadors of France to India
1897 births
1960 deaths
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to France