Sir Edward Grey

Sir Edward Grey (1862-1933), British statesman, born in London, and educated at the University of Oxford. He entered Parliament in 1885 and became undersecretary of state for foreign affairs (1892), a member of the Privy Council (1902), and secretary of state for foreign affairs (1905). During the troubled years before World War I he supported France in its dispute with Germany over Morocco, and he conducted the negotiations with France and Russia that led to the formation of the Triple Entente. He also attempted to mediate in the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, presiding over the negotiations of European ambassadors at the 1913 London Peace Conference.

At the outbreak of World War I he made his most famous speech, including the statement, “The lights are going out all over Europe; I doubt if we shall see some of them again in our time.” In 1915 he concluded the agreement that brought Italy into the war on the side of the Allies. The next year he resigned from the ministry and was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Grey of Fallodon. He became chancellor of the University of Oxford in 1928 and was president of the League of Nations Council from its founding in 1919 until his death.