Joseph Louis Anne Avenol

Joseph Louis Anne avenol KBE ( born June 9, 1879 in Melle, France, † September 2, 1951 in Duillier, Switzerland ) was a French politician and diplomat. He was from 1933 to 1940 Secretary General of the League of Nations. Avenol saw himself because of his policy, which was partially rather than determines the supposed interests of his native France to serve those of the Geneva Federal, often subjected to strong criticism. In addition for being too close to the Axis powers and the Vichy regime has been accused.

Life

Rise

Avenol worked for the French Ministry of Finance before he was sent in 1922 without much experience as a diplomat to the League of Nations in Geneva in order to control as Deputy Secretary-General the organization's finances.

In 1932, it became apparent that the incumbent since the establishment of the Geneva Federal Secretary, the Scot Eric Drummond, no longer wanted to run for an extension of his term of office. Although Drummond was looking at the smaller neutral members for a successor to prevent avenol, France was able to assert its choice. This was partly because of a secret agreement in 1920 between London and Paris, the French established a set in exchange for the support of the candidacy Drummond this year as his successor. On the other hand avenol secured the support of four other major powers that were members of the League at this time by he promised to occupy four of the five most important posts in the administration of the covenant with officials from Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Secretary General of the League of Nations

Avenol took office at a time in which the League of Nations was under strong pressure. A few months before Japan had left because of the condemnation of the Japanese invasion of North China during the Manchurian crisis by the League of Nations, while in Germany penetrated the league of nations hostile Nazi regime and also - within half a year after Avenols office - withdrawal from the should explain league.

During the crisis in Manchuria for the first time showed the most extensive impotence of the League of Nations to take action against breaches of its principles effective measures. This impression of powerlessness was later reaffirmed by Avenols inability and unwillingness to protect the rights of the Federal Government and its members.

This first became apparent at the beginning of the war in Italy against the kingdom of Abyssinia (today's Ethiopia ), both members of the League, in 1935, when avenol tried to keep the League of Nations officially neutral. But he rose to the establishment of an Italian protectorate over Ethiopia to be disclosed officially, because the East African kingdom of slavery still tolerated, but actually because he feared a League of Nations exit of Italy, following the example of Japan and Germany and he did not isolate Italy as a potential ally of France and wanted to drive to the Germans. Only strong protest of the smaller members of the League of Nations, headed by the USSR continued, led to tentative and ultimately ineffectual economic sanctions. With the annexation of Ethiopia by Italy in the summer of 1936, the League lost its last moral authority. The resignation of Italy was still end 1937.

Later avenol ensured that the League of Nations to the annexation of Austria by the German Reich only with the deletion of Austria from the membership as well as the dismissal of Austrian League of Nations staff responded. The German attack on Poland, including the mandate territory of Danzig were accepted and not even officially handled by the federal bodies.

Even before the victory of the German Wehrmacht in France began avenol, massive to dismiss staff; immediately after the armistice of 22 June 1940 he dismissed the remaining British federal employees and issued a declaration of loyalty to the Vichy regime under Henri Philippe Pétain, to whom he offered his resignation.

Resignation and death

Avenol remained after the defeat of France in the western campaign in 1940 to end August 1940 office, which he described as outdated in his resignation and now no longer needed. He stated also that his later successor, the Irish Seán Lester, the League of Nations in fact already initiated since the end of July 1940. Avenol went after his resignation to Vichy in order to serve the local regime.

However, New Year's Eve 1943, he was forced to flee back to Switzerland for fear of arrest by German troops. As a collaborator he could not return to France, but remained in exile in Switzerland, where he witnessed the dissolution of the League of Nations in April 1946 after the German occupation. Avenol eventually died in the late summer of 1951 of a heart attack.

Works

• Together with Jan Christiaan Smuts: "The future of the League of Nations ", Geneva, 1938.