Camille Barrère (23 October 1851 – 7 October 1940) was a French diplomat, most notably the ambassador to Italy from 1897 to 1924. In 1902, Barrère negotiated a secret accord with

Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs The minister of foreign affairs is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italy), Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Italy. The office was one of the positions which Italy inherited from the Kingdom of Sardinia where it was the most ancient mi ...

Giulio Prinetti that ended both countries' historical rivalry for

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. The Prinetti-Barrère Accord stated that in the event of a redistribution of Ottoman lands in Northern Africa, France would not contest an Italian claim on the lands of the Tripolitania Vilayet, which makes up modern

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. In return, Italy would not contest a French claim on the Ottoman territory of

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 ...

. The agreement allowed for the French

Agadir Crisis The Agadir Crisis, Agadir Incident, or Second Moroccan Crisis, was a brief crisis sparked by the deployment of a substantial force of French troops in the interior of Morocco in July 1911 and the deployment of the German gunboat to Agadir, ...

in Morocco in 1911 and the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

of 1911–1912, which resulted in the taking of both territories. Barrère also was a key figure in arranging the 1915 secret Treaty of London between Italy and the

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was built upon th ...

, which resulted in Italy abandoning its Triple Alliance partners of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Austro-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Barrère had sympathy for the early fascist movements in Italy and "viewed the nascent fascist movement with almost unalloyed favour and enthusiasm." Reportedly, he even personally provided financial support to

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

. Barrère, who had participated in all

International Sanitary Conferences The International Sanitary Conferences were a series of 14 international meetings held in response to growing concerns about human disease epidemics. The first of the Sanitary Conferences was organized by the French Government in 1851 to standardiz ...

since that of 1892, giving him the informal title of the "Mathusalem of international sanitary action", was one of the driving forces behind the founding of the ''

Office international d'hygiène publique The International Office of Public Hygiene (OIPH), also known by its French language, French name as the Office International d'Hygiène Publique (OIHP), was an international organization founded 9 December 1907 and based in Paris, France. It mer ...

'' (created in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

, it is seen as a predecessor of WHO with which it was merged after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrere, Camille 1851 births 1940 deaths People from Nièvre Ambassadors of France to Italy Ambassadors of France to Sweden 19th-century French diplomats 20th-century French diplomats Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques

See also

References