François Lefebvre de Laboulaye

François Lefebvre de Laboulaye came from a diplomatic family: his father André had also represented France in Washington. His own career included work in Beirut, Ottawa, Washington, and Moscow, an assignment with the Compagnie française des pétroles, and ambassadorships in Brazil and Japan. He became ambassador to the United States in 1977. ¹

His Washington work included the implementation of international trade agreements. In April 1979 he and European Community ambassador Fernand Spaak met Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Speaking for the Community presidency, Laboulaye urged that American legislation faithfully reproduce the Tokyo Round agreements, particularly their standard for determining injury in dumping and subsidy cases. ²

Outside his diplomatic assignments, he maintained a long friendship with the scholar Louis Massignon, whom he met in Lebanon in 1945. He accompanied Massignon during a 1952 Canadian visit and later chaired the Association des Amis de Louis Massignon from 1983 to 1996. The association credits his international contacts with helping organize the scholar's centenary commemorations. ³