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{{short description|French diplomat}}

⚫
'''Pol Le Gourrierec''' (or '''Le Gourriérec''', 15 January 1921 – 19 July 1995) was a French diplomat who was best known for an incident during his service as French Ambassador to Pakistan.
{{Userspace draft|source=ArticleWizard|date=August 2015}}

⚫
'''Pol Le Gourrierec''' (or '''Le Gourriérec''') was a French diplomat. He is most prominently known for an incident during his service as French Ambassador to Pakistan.


==Early life==
==Early life==


Born in [[Cléguérec]] on January 15, 1921,<ref name="Le Nail2009"/> he was fluent in [[Breton language|Breton]] as well as French.<ref name="Le Nail2009"/><ref name="Le Nail2014"/> In January 1945, he was one of the founders, along with poet and editor [[Ronan Huon]], of the Breton language cultural magazine, ''Tír na nÓg'' <ref name="BroNevez2001"/><ref name="Gwernig2002"/> which merged in 1948 with ''[[Al Liamm]]''.<ref name="Le Nail2014"/>
Born in [[Cléguérec]] in January 1921,<ref name="Le Nail2009"/> he was fluent in [[Breton language|Breton]] as well as French.<ref name="Le Nail2009"/><ref name="Le Nail2014"/> In January 1945, he was one of the founders, along with poet and editor [[Ronan Huon]], of the Breton language cultural magazine, ''Tír na nÓg'' <ref name="BroNevez2001"/><ref name="Gwernig2002"/> which merged in 1948 with ''[[Al Liamm]]''.<ref name="Le Nail2014"/>


==Diplomatic service==
==Diplomatic service==
He had an early interest in North Africa.<ref name="Gourrierec1947"/> In 1948, he joined the diplomatic service.<ref name="Le Nail2014"/>
He had an early interest in North Africa.<ref name="Gourrierec1947"/> In 1948, he joined the diplomatic service.<ref name="Le Nail2014"/>


He served as an embassy secretary in Morocco in the late 1950s.<ref name="Long2000"/> He was Chargés d'Affaires in Iraq from February to September 1963.<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|67}}<ref name="Styan"/>{{rp|77}} He was First Counselor of the Embassy in Warsaw in 1964.<ref name="JOR1964"/> In the late 1960s, he was Director of North African Affairs,<ref name="DDF1968"/>{{rp|1076}} and visited Tunisia in 1969.<ref name="FFP1969"/> He served as French Ambassador to Bulgaria from 1971 to 1975,<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|46}} to Pakistan from 1976 to 1979,<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|87}} and to the [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]] from 1979 to 1982.<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|102}}
He served as an embassy secretary in Morocco in the late 1950s.<ref name="Long2000"/> He was Chargés d'Affaires in Iraq from February to September 1963.<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|67}}<ref name="Styan"/>{{rp|77}} He was First Counselor of the Embassy in Warsaw in 1964.<ref name="JOR1964"/> In the late 1960s, he was Director of North African Affairs,<ref name="DDF1968"/>{{rp|1076}} and visited Tunisia in 1969.<ref name="FFP1969"/> He served as French Ambassador to Bulgaria from 1971 to 1975,<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|46}} to Pakistan from 1976 to 1979,<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|87}} and to the [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]] from 1979 to 1982.<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|102}}


==Pakistan==
==Pakistan==

===Background===
===Background===
The French had initially resisted US pressure to cancel a contract to build a [[nuclear fuel]] reprocessing plant, but the deal gradually unravelled sometime in mid to late 1978, certainly by February 1979, as the French became concerned about Pakistan's intentions regarding [[nuclear weapon]]s.<ref name="Levy2007"/>{{rp|472}}<ref name="ET2010"/><ref name="NSA2010"/>
The French had initially resisted US pressure to cancel a contract to build a [[nuclear fuel]] reprocessing plant, but the deal gradually unravelled sometime in mid to late 1978, certainly by February 1979, as the French became concerned about Pakistan's intentions regarding [[nuclear weapon]]s.<ref name="Levy2007"/>{{rp|472}}<ref name="ET2010"/><ref name="NSA2010"/>


===Incident===
===Incident===
On 25 June 1979, as they were driving alone through the town of [[Kahuta]] some 25 miles southwest of [[Islamabad]], in a vehicle with a local rather than a diplomatic number plate and without displaying a diplomatic flag, Le Gourrierec and his First Secretary, Jean Forlot, were stopped at a checkpoint. According to Denoël, they were driving to Islamabad, and intended to visit a long-unused military fortress, but accidentally took a wrong turn and passed near a secret nuclear bomb complex.<ref name="Denoël2008"/>{{rp|191}} However, according to several sources, their presence was intentional.<ref name="Levy2007"/> There was a physical altercation with five or six men.<ref name="Levy2007"/>{{rp|66}}<ref name="Khan2014"/><ref name="Kemp2014"/>
On 26 June 1979, Le Gourrierec and his First Secretary, Jean Forlot, were stopped at a checkpoint. They were driving alone through the town of [[Kahuta]] some 25 miles southwest of [[Islamabad]], in a vehicle with a local rather than a diplomatic number plate and without displaying a diplomatic flag. According to Denoël, they were driving to Islamabad, and intended to visit a long-unused military fortress, but accidentally took a wrong turn and passed near a secret nuclear bomb complex.<ref name="Denoël2008"/>{{rp|191}} However, according to several sources, their presence was intentional.<ref name="Levy2007"/> There was a physical altercation with five or six men.<ref name="Levy2007"/>{{rp|66}}<ref name="Khan2014"/><ref name="Kemp2014"/>


Le Gourrierec was severely beaten,<ref name="Khan2014"/><ref name="NSA2010"/> and sustained a broken tooth, while Forlot had a split skull.<ref name="Express1979"/> The men who assaulted them were not bandits or thugs, as initially suggested by the Pakistani authorities,<ref name="Denoël2008"/> but were plain-clothed members of the security forces, acting under orders.<ref name="Khan2014"/><ref name="Kemp2014"/> According to Khan, Forlot was passing on information to the [[CIA]] and may have been actively spying on its behalf.<ref name="Khan2014"/><ref name="Kemp2014"/><ref name="Abid1986"/> Khan suggests that foreigners "got the message" and subsequently avoided the area,<ref name="Khan2014"/> but the Yugoslav ambassador later drove slowly along the perimeter wall in a show of solidarity, albeit with a diplomatic flag.<ref name="Levy2007"/>
Le Gourrierec was severely beaten,<ref name="NSA2010"/><ref name="Khan2014"/> and sustained a broken tooth, while Forlot had a split skull.<ref name="Express1979"/> The men who assaulted them were not bandits or thugs, as initially suggested by the Pakistani authorities,<ref name="Denoël2008"/> but were plain-clothed members of the security forces, acting under orders.<ref name="Khan2014"/><ref name="Kemp2014"/> According to Khan, Forlot was passing on information to the [[CIA]] and may have been actively spying on its behalf.<ref name="Khan2014"/><ref name="Kemp2014"/><ref name="Abid1986"/> Khan suggests that foreigners "got the message" and subsequently avoided the area,<ref name="Khan2014"/> but the Yugoslav ambassador later drove slowly along the perimeter wall in a show of solidarity, albeit with a diplomatic flag.<ref name="Levy2007"/>

==Personal life==
He died in [[Puylaroque]] in July 1995 at the age of 74.<ref>[https://deces.matchid.io/search?q=Pol+Le+Gourrierec MatchID: LE GOURRIEREC Pol]</ref>


==Family==
His son, Alain Le Gourriérec,<ref name="Le Nail2014"/> was French Ambassador to Paraguay from 1993 to 1994,<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|88}} to Chile from 2001 to 2005,<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|49}} and to Mexico from 2005 to 2008.<ref name="Le Nail2014"/><ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|81}}
His son, Alain Le Gourriérec,<ref name="Le Nail2014"/> was French Ambassador to Paraguay from 1993 to 1994,<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|88}} to Chile from 2001 to 2005,<ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|49}} and to Mexico from 2005 to 2008.<ref name="Le Nail2014"/><ref name="Liste"/>{{rp|81}}


Line 36: Line 37:
<ref name="DDF1968">Documents diplomatiques français: 1968. (2 juillet - 31 décembre) edited by Ministere Des Affaires Etrangeres [https://books.google.com/books?id=7_mBQXuMGmUC]</ref>
<ref name="DDF1968">Documents diplomatiques français: 1968. (2 juillet - 31 décembre) edited by Ministere Des Affaires Etrangeres [https://books.google.com/books?id=7_mBQXuMGmUC]</ref>


<ref name="Denoël2008">Denoël Y. ''1979. Guerres secrètes au Moyen-Orient.'' Nouveau Monde éditions, 2008. ISBN 9782847363951</ref>
<ref name="Denoël2008">Denoël Y. ''1979. Guerres secrètes au Moyen-Orient.'' Nouveau Monde éditions, 2008. {{ISBN|9782847363951}}</ref>


<ref name="ET2010">''India warned would 'smash' Pakistan nukes: US files''. The Economic Times. PTI Dec 23, 2010. [http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-12-23/news/28486362_1_nuclear-free-zone-atomic-weapons-zia-ul-haq]</ref>
<ref name="ET2010">''India warned would 'smash' Pakistan nukes: US files''. The Economic Times. PTI Dec 23, 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160305145448/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-12-23/news/28486362_1_nuclear-free-zone-atomic-weapons-zia-ul-haq]</ref>


<ref name="Express1979">L'Express Paris, Presse-Union. 1979 page 66 [https://books.google.com/books?id=S-MhAQAAIAAJ]</ref>
<ref name="Express1979">[https://books.google.com/books?id=S-MhAQAAIAAJ L'Express Paris, Presse-Union. 1979 page 66]</ref>


<ref name="FFP1969">''French Foreign Policy''. Ambassade de France, Service de presse et d'information. January to June 1969, page 88. [https://books.google.com/books?id=pG7wAAAAMAAJ]</ref>
<ref name="FFP1969">''French Foreign Policy''. Ambassade de France, Service de presse et d'information. January to June 1969, page 88. [https://books.google.com/books?id=pG7wAAAAMAAJ]</ref>
Line 50: Line 51:
<ref name="JOR1964">Journal officiel de la République française, Volume 96 France. 1964. page 5541. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9BUkAQAAMAAJ]</ref>
<ref name="JOR1964">Journal officiel de la République française, Volume 96 France. 1964. page 5541. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9BUkAQAAMAAJ]</ref>


<ref name="Kemp2014">Kemp RS. ''The Nonproliferation Emperor Has No Clothes''. MIT Press. [http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/89182]</ref>
<ref name="Kemp2014">[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/89182 Kemp RS. ''The Nonproliferation Emperor Has No Clothes''. MIT Press]</ref>


<ref name="Khan2014">Khan AQ. ''Unsung heroes''. The News International. August 04, 2014 [http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-265190-Unsung-heroes]</ref>
<ref name="Khan2014">[http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-265190-Unsung-heroes Khan AQ. ''Unsung heroes''. The News International. August 04, 2014]</ref>


<ref name="Le Nail2009">[[Bernard Le Nail|Le Nail B]]. ''Des Bretons au Mexique''. Portes du larges. 2009. ISBN 9782914612272 page 202.</ref>
<ref name="Le Nail2009">[[Bernard Le Nail|Le Nail B]]. ''Des Bretons au Mexique''. Portes du larges. 2009. {{ISBN|9782914612272}} page 202.</ref>


<ref name="Le Nail2014">Le Nail B. [http://www.agencebretagnepresse.com/id=12908]</ref>
<ref name="Le Nail2014">[https://abp.bzh/12908 Le Nail B]</ref>


<ref name="Levy2007">Levy A, Scott-Clarck C: ''Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons''. Walker Books, 2007, ISBN 9780802715548</ref>
<ref name="Levy2007">Levy A, Scott-Clarck C: ''Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons''. Walker Books, 2007, {{ISBN|9780802715548}}</ref>


<ref name="Liste">''Liste chronologique des Ambassadeurs, Envoyés Extraordinaires, Ministres Plénipotentiaires et Chargés d'Affaires de France à l'Étranger depuis 1945''. (PDF, in French). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (France). [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/maep0035-0120_cle8a5377.pdf] Retrieved 2 Aug 2015.</ref>
<ref name="Liste">''Liste chronologique des Ambassadeurs, Envoyés Extraordinaires, Ministres Plénipotentiaires et Chargés d'Affaires de France à l'Étranger depuis 1945''. (PDF, in French). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (France). [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/maep0035-0120_cle8a5377.pdf] Retrieved 2 Aug 2015.</ref>


<ref name="Long2000">Long M. ''Souvenirs des premières années de l'Indépendance du Maroc 1956 -1961''. Conseiller aux affaires juridiques de l'ambassade de France à Rabat. La Revue administrative. Published by: Presses Universitaires de France. 53e Année, No. 314 (MARS AVRIL 2000), pp. 118-125 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/40773143]</ref>
<ref name="Long2000">Long M. ''Souvenirs des premières années de l'Indépendance du Maroc 1956 -1961''. Conseiller aux affaires juridiques de l'ambassade de France à Rabat. La Revue administrative. Published by: Presses Universitaires de France. 53e Année, No. 314 (MARS AVRIL 2000), pp. 118-125 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40773143]</ref>


<ref name="NSA2010">National Security Archive's Nuclear Documentation Project. ''The United States and Pakistan's Quest for the Bomb: Newly Declassified Documents Disclose Carter Administration's Unsuccessful Efforts to Roll Back Islamabad's Secret Nuclear Program'' The George Washington University. 2010. [http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb333/]</ref>
<ref name="NSA2010">National Security Archive's Nuclear Documentation Project. ''The United States and Pakistan's Quest for the Bomb: Newly Declassified Documents Disclose Carter Administration's Unsuccessful Efforts to Roll Back Islamabad's Secret Nuclear Program'' The George Washington University. 2010. [http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb333/]</ref>


<ref name="Styan">Styan D. ''France and Iraq: Oil, Arms and French Policy-Making in the Middle East''. Library of International Relations published by I. B. Tauris, 2006. ISBN 9781845110451</ref>
<ref name="Styan">Styan D. ''France and Iraq: Oil, Arms and French Policy-Making in the Middle East''. Library of International Relations published by I. B. Tauris, 2006. {{ISBN|9781845110451}}</ref>


}}
}}
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* [http://cns.miis.edu/npr/pdfs/152_review_hibbs.pdf Mark Hibbs. ''Pakistan's Bomb: Mission Unstoppable'' Nonproliferation Review 15 (July 2008), pages 382-391. doi:10.1080/10736700802117403]
* [http://cns.miis.edu/npr/pdfs/152_review_hibbs.pdf Mark Hibbs. ''Pakistan's Bomb: Mission Unstoppable'' Nonproliferation Review 15 (July 2008), pages 382-391. doi:10.1080/10736700802117403]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Gourrierec, Pol}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons programme of Pakistan]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
⚫
[[Category:Ambassadors of France to Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of France to Pakistan]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of France to the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]]
[[Category:20th-century French diplomats]]
[[Category:20th-century French diplomats]]
[[Category:Diplomatic incidents| ]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of France to Czechoslovakia]]
⚫
[[Category:Ambassadors of France to Pakistan]]
[[Category:Diplomatic incidents]]
[[Category:French expatriates in Morocco]]
[[Category:French expatriates in Iraq]]
[[Category:French expatriates in Poland]]

Latest revision as of 23:31, 21 October 2024

Pol Le Gourrierec (or Le Gourriérec, 15 January 1921 – 19 July 1995) was a French diplomat who was best known for an incident during his service as French Ambassador to Pakistan.

Early life

[edit]

Born in Cléguérec in January 1921,[1] he was fluent in Breton as well as French.[1][2] In January 1945, he was one of the founders, along with poet and editor Ronan Huon, of the Breton language cultural magazine, Tír na nÓg [3][4] which merged in 1948 with Al Liamm.[2]

Diplomatic service

[edit]

He had an early interest in North Africa.[5] In 1948, he joined the diplomatic service.[2]

He served as an embassy secretary in Morocco in the late 1950s.[6] He was Chargés d'Affaires in Iraq from February to September 1963.[7]: 67 [8]: 77  He was First Counselor of the Embassy in Warsaw in 1964.[9] In the late 1960s, he was Director of North African Affairs,[10]: 1076  and visited Tunisia in 1969.[11] He served as French Ambassador to Bulgaria from 1971 to 1975,[7]: 46  to Pakistan from 1976 to 1979,[7]: 87  and to the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1979 to 1982.[7]: 102 

Pakistan

[edit]

Background

[edit]

The French had initially resisted US pressure to cancel a contract to build a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, but the deal gradually unravelled sometime in mid to late 1978, certainly by February 1979, as the French became concerned about Pakistan's intentions regarding nuclear weapons.[12]: 472 [13][14]

Incident

[edit]

On 26 June 1979, Le Gourrierec and his First Secretary, Jean Forlot, were stopped at a checkpoint. They were driving alone through the town of Kahuta some 25 miles southwest of Islamabad, in a vehicle with a local rather than a diplomatic number plate and without displaying a diplomatic flag. According to Denoël, they were driving to Islamabad, and intended to visit a long-unused military fortress, but accidentally took a wrong turn and passed near a secret nuclear bomb complex.[15]: 191  However, according to several sources, their presence was intentional.[12] There was a physical altercation with five or six men.[12]: 66 [16][17]

Le Gourrierec was severely beaten,[14][16] and sustained a broken tooth, while Forlot had a split skull.[18] The men who assaulted them were not bandits or thugs, as initially suggested by the Pakistani authorities,[15] but were plain-clothed members of the security forces, acting under orders.[16][17] According to Khan, Forlot was passing on information to the CIA and may have been actively spying on its behalf.[16][17][19] Khan suggests that foreigners "got the message" and subsequently avoided the area,[16] but the Yugoslav ambassador later drove slowly along the perimeter wall in a show of solidarity, albeit with a diplomatic flag.[12]

Personal life

[edit]

He died in Puylaroque in July 1995 at the age of 74.[20]

His son, Alain Le Gourriérec,[2] was French Ambassador to Paraguay from 1993 to 1994,[7]: 88  to Chile from 2001 to 2005,[7]: 49  and to Mexico from 2005 to 2008.[2][7]: 81 

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Le Nail B. Des Bretons au Mexique. Portes du larges. 2009. ISBN 9782914612272 page 202.
  2. ^ a b c d e Le Nail B
  3. ^ Bro Nevez: Newsletter of the U.S. Branch, Issues 77-88. The Branch, 2001 [1]
  4. ^ Gwernig Y, Huon R, de Bellaing V. Nouvelles bilingues. an Here, 2002 [2]
  5. ^ Le Gourrierec P. Deux aspects de la renaissance arabe en Tunisie. École nationale d'administration (ENA). 1947 [3]
  6. ^ Long M. Souvenirs des premières années de l'Indépendance du Maroc 1956 -1961. Conseiller aux affaires juridiques de l'ambassade de France à Rabat. La Revue administrative. Published by: Presses Universitaires de France. 53e Année, No. 314 (MARS AVRIL 2000), pp. 118-125 [4]
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Liste chronologique des Ambassadeurs, Envoyés Extraordinaires, Ministres Plénipotentiaires et Chargés d'Affaires de France à l'Étranger depuis 1945. (PDF, in French). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (France). [5] Retrieved 2 Aug 2015.
  8. ^ Styan D. France and Iraq: Oil, Arms and French Policy-Making in the Middle East. Library of International Relations published by I. B. Tauris, 2006. ISBN 9781845110451
  9. ^ Journal officiel de la République française, Volume 96 France. 1964. page 5541. [6]
  10. ^ Documents diplomatiques français: 1968. (2 juillet - 31 décembre) edited by Ministere Des Affaires Etrangeres [7]
  11. ^ French Foreign Policy. Ambassade de France, Service de presse et d'information. January to June 1969, page 88. [8]
  12. ^ a b c d Levy A, Scott-Clarck C: Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons. Walker Books, 2007, ISBN 9780802715548
  13. ^ India warned would 'smash' Pakistan nukes: US files. The Economic Times. PTI Dec 23, 2010. [9]
  14. ^ a b National Security Archive's Nuclear Documentation Project. The United States and Pakistan's Quest for the Bomb: Newly Declassified Documents Disclose Carter Administration's Unsuccessful Efforts to Roll Back Islamabad's Secret Nuclear Program The George Washington University. 2010. [10]
  15. ^ a b Denoël Y. 1979. Guerres secrètes au Moyen-Orient. Nouveau Monde éditions, 2008. ISBN 9782847363951
  16. ^ a b c d e Khan AQ. Unsung heroes. The News International. August 04, 2014
  17. ^ a b c Kemp RS. The Nonproliferation Emperor Has No Clothes. MIT Press
  18. ^ L'Express Paris, Presse-Union. 1979 page 66
  19. ^ Abid A. The Secret Documents Recovered from the US Embassy, Tehran. Fore-Runners, Karachi. 1986
  20. ^ MatchID: LE GOURRIEREC Pol
[edit]
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