Greatest Diplomat in History

[1889]

We have a greatest general thread but how about the greatest diplomat or politician? Who has had made the greatest contribution to history without commanding an army? Scientist (even political scientists) are not eligible, this is for working stiffs on Foreign Service.

After thinking up the question I realized I don't have much of a clue as to who I'd want to nominate. The Concert of Europe that was formed after the Napoleonic wars was pretty effective so maybe Tallyrand, Metternich and Castlereagh.

I hear a lot about Benjamin Franklin but don't really know if he was that effective.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Metternich is the cliche answer.

I think he was a horrbile politician. The Concert of Europe set Europe up for World War One.

I digress.

My vote for best diplomat goes to TR. He got it done, what can I say?

 

[Tee Kay]

How about Le Duc Tho? He managed to get the Americans to leave Vietnam and opened the way for the reunification of Vietnam.

 

[sydhe]

Otto von Bismarck. Managing to have alliances simultaneously with Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Italy while staying on friendly terms with Britain was quite an accomplishment, and a lot of the unification of Germany was done through diplomacy as well as military action. Unfortunately, the Kaiser undid a lot of his work very quickly.

 

[puglover]

My vote for best diplomat goes to TR. He got it done, what can I say?

I don't know. He suggested we conquer Canada after the Spanish-American War. Can't be that smart of a diplomat.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

Otto von Bismarck. Managing to have alliances simultaneously with Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Italy while staying on friendly terms with Britain was quite an accomplishment, and a lot of the unification of Germany was done through diplomacy as well as military action. Unfortunately, the Kaiser undid a lot of his work very quickly.

I was just about to nominate him too.

Also, Hitler is a good candidate, anexing countries only through threats and intimidation - He sucked big time as a military leader tho.

 

[Plotinus]

I should think a number of Popes would be good candidates for this, given that quite a lot of them managed to be major political players on the world stage despite having limited military resources.

The obvious one that comes to mind is Pope Leo I, who persuaded Attila the Hun not to sack Rome. Gregory I would also be a good candidate, for his negotiations with the Lombards.

 

[Neonanocyborgasm]

We have a greatest general thread but how about the greatest diplomat or politician? Who has had made the greatest contribution to history without commanding an army? Scientist (even political scientists) are not eligible, this is for working stiffs on Foreign Service.

After thinking up the question I realized I don't have much of a clue as to who I'd want to nominate. The Concert of Europe that was formed after the Napoleonic wars was pretty effective so maybe Tallyrand, Metternich and Castlereagh.

I hear a lot about Benjamin Franklin but don't really know if he was that effective.

Probably Otto von Bismarck, who appears to have singlehandedly not only created a country within his own lifetime, but also made it a superpower within the same lifetime. Although he did engineer wars, he did not command the army. Technically, he was not even the official ruler of Germany, yet acted as if he was.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I don't know. He suggested we conquer Canada after the Spanish-American War. Can't be that smart of a diplomat.

Meh, he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy at that time. Doesn't count. That's like holding the fact that Bush is an ex-alcoholic against him.

I was referring both to his "Big Stick" Diplomacy, and to the fact that he negotiated the end to the Russo-Japanese War, and helped prevent two others.


Other possible candidates for this could be Henry Kissinger, even though he really wasn't a 'diplomat,' and George F. Kennan.

 

[Louis XXIV]

Metternich is the cliche answer.

I think he was a horrbile politician. The Concert of Europe set Europe up for World War One.

Still, World War I was a long time away. The Concert of Europe helped prevent major warfare for a long time. I don't think things would have been better otherwise. Still, I wouldn't say Metternick was the best reason (his anti-democracy measures didn't work at all, plus there were other important people in making sure everyone was happy). I give a lot of credit to Talleyrand as well for making sure even France didn't get screwed at Vienna.

My vote for best diplomat goes to TR. He got it done, what can I say?

His mediation of the treaty between Japan and Russia led to a lot of Japanese resentment (which was further damaged by Californians kicking Japanese out of schools). He did manage to resolve the Japanese crisis temporarily, solving the California problem, preventing a Japanese invasion of the Philippines. He had to recognize Japanese anexation of Korea, which was only a small price and he never got full cooperation of an open door trading policy in Japan's sphere of influence in China (the US had more success than they did in Russia, though), but he did good things in Asia. Still, just like World War I eventually broke out in spite of the concert of Europe, Japan and the United States eventually went to war over the exact same issues Roosevelt tried to resolve.

In Latin America, he was more effective, but the United States had absolute domination over the western hemisphere anyway.

Anyway, aside from the obvious choice of Otto Von Bismark, I'm going to add my vote to Ben Franklin. He had very little to work with, but knew how to play off French expectations to gain their support (as well as play the French and British off each other to the United States's advantage).

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Still, World War I was a long time away. The Concert of Europe helped prevent major warfare for a long time. I don't think things would have been better otherwise. Still, I wouldn't say Metternick was the best reason (his anti-democracy measures didn't work at all, plus there were other important people in making sure everyone was happy). I give a lot of credit to Talleyrand as well for making sure even France didn't get screwed at Vienna.

Europe did not have a major war for a hundred years. So, basically everyone alive was largely ignorant to the horrors of war. This was amplified by the specific point in history which this occurred: at the end of the Industrial Revolution. Because a large-scale war was absent in Europe during the development of the myriad of new weapons that came out of the Industrial Era, we find them fighting an 18th Century war with 20th Century weapons. Why did this happen? Because the Concert of Europe allowed it to happen. Yes, Europe got off scot-free for a century, but it was paid back in full on Flanders Fields.

Note: I don't consider the Austrio-Prussian or the Franco-Prussian War to be major wars, and the Crimean War happenned, well, in the Crimea.

 

[Evie]

I'm not sure I'd call any of the great nation-builders (Bismarck, Richelieu, etc) a diplomat. They USED diplomacy (but more often, had actual diplomats to carry that out), and quite effectively, but it was only a tool in their arsenal as Statesmen.

 

[sydhe]

John Quincy Adams is generally considered the most successful of the American Secretaries of State. (He's generally given a lot of credit for the Monroe Doctrine.) William Seward also had some notable successes, including one famous Folly.

 

[-0blivion-]

Cavour was an excellent diplomat, I dont think he was the best in history but certainly worth mentioning.

 

[Louis XXIV]

John Quincy Adams is generally considered the most successful of the American Secretaries of State. (He's generally given a lot of credit for the Monroe Doctrine.) William Seward also had some notable successes, including one famous Folly.

I had forgotten about JQ Adams. Just his diplomacy with the British was amazing for the long term survival of the United States.

 

[onejayhawk]

How about Giulio Mazarini, aka Jules Cardinal Mazarin, ender of the 30 Years War, and, among many other things, Cardinal Richelieu's successor.

J

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

What about the man who united Italy? I can't remember his name, but he was the King of Piedmont.

 

[-0blivion-]

What about the man who united Italy? I can't remember his name, but he was the King of Piedmont.

Well, as i said above, the man mostly responsible for the unification of Italy is Count Cavour, Prime Minister of Piedmont until 1861. King Emmanuel was not really the driving force behind unification.

It could be said that Garibaldi, Count Cavour and Napoleon III were the men responsible for the Risorgimento, and Cavour certainly did the case of Italy good in the diplomatic arena, see Piedmontese involvment in the Crimean War, isolating Austria in Europe, and most importantly the meeting with Emperor Napoleon III at Plombiere in 1858, leading to French support against the Austrians.

Edit: Yeah Yeah, III whatever!

 

[Dachs]

You mean Napoleon III.

 

[jeriko one]

Inonu was a good diplomat. He represented Turkey quite well in Lausanne. Also although he was the head of the state not a diplomat, he kept Turkey out of WWII.