The Viscount Grey of Fallodon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| British Ambassador to the United States | |
| In office September 1919 – March 1920 | |
| Nominated by | David Lloyd George |
| Appointed by | George V |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Reading |
| Succeeded by | Sir Auckland Geddes |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 10 December 1905 – 10 December 1916 | |
| Prime Minister | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Lansdowne |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Balfour |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 18 August 1892 – 20 June 1895 | |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery |
| Preceded by | James Lowther |
| Succeeded by | George Curzon |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Hereditary peerage 27 July 1916 – 7 September 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Peerage created |
| Succeeded by | Peerage extinct |
| Member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed | |
| In office November 1885 – July 1916 | |
| Preceded by | Hubert Jerningham David Milne Home |
| Succeeded by | Sir Francis Blake |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 April 1862 London, England |
| Died | 7 September 1933 (aged 71) Fallodon, England |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouses | Dorothy Widdrington
(m. 1885; died 1906) |
| Relations | House of Grey |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Profession | Politician |
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, KG, PC, DL, FZS (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War.
An adherent of the "New Liberalism",[1] he served as Foreign Secretary from 1905 to 1916, the longest continuous tenure of any holder of that office. He renewed the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1911. The centrepiece of his policy was the defence of France against German aggression, while avoiding a binding alliance with Paris. He supported France in the Moroccan crises of 1905 and 1911. Another major achievement was the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. He resolved an outstanding conflict with Germany over the Baghdad railway in 1913. His most important action came in the July Crisis in 1914, when he led Britain into World War I against Germany. He convinced the Liberal cabinet that Britain had an obligation and was honour-bound to defend France, and prevent Germany from controlling Western Europe. Once the war began, there was little role for his diplomacy; he lost office in December 1916. By 1919 he was a leading British supporter of the League of Nations.
He is remembered for his "the lamps are going out" remark on 3 August 1914 on the outbreak of the First World War.[2] He signed the Sykes-Picot Agreement on 16 May 1916.[3] He was ennobled in 1916, prior to which he was the 3rd Baronet Grey of Fallodon, and was Ambassador to the United States between 1919 and 1920 and Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords between 1923 and 1924.
- ^ Finn, Margot C. "The Reform League, Union, and International". After Chartism: Class and Nation in English Radical Politics 1848–1874. Cambridge University Press. p. 259.
- ^ Viscount Grey of Fallodon: Twenty-Five Years 1892–1916 (New York, 1925) p. 20 books.google.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) p. 8.