Jules Henry

Jules Henry was a long serving member of the French embassy in Washington. By 1938 he had spent seventeen years in the United States, and he managed the embassy during the interval after Georges Bonnet's departure. He subsequently moved to the foreign ministry's American affairs administration. ¹

In July 1937 he conveyed French proposals for consultations over the fighting between China and Japan. In February 1938 he raised French concerns that American and British construction of larger battleships would encourage Germany and Italy to follow, and sought consultation before a final decision. ^{2, 3}

Henry later served Vichy as ambassador in Turkey. Before leaving France in October 1940, he defended Marshal Pétain's intentions in a conversation with American diplomat H. Freeman Matthews, who challenged his confidence in the Vichy leadership. In June 1941 Henry urged the American ambassador in Ankara to relay his hope that Britain would refrain from attacking French controlled Syria. ^{4, 5}

He died in Ankara on 10 June 1941. The following day's Cumhuriyet reported his death at Numune Hospital after an emergency operation. ⁶