The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Gramont, Agénor, prince de Bidache, duc de Guiche et de
(äzhnôr´ prNs´ d bdäsh´ dük d gsh d grämôN´) (KEY) , 1819–80, French diplomat. He served as plenipotentiary at Stuttgart (1852) and Turin (1853) and was ambassador to Rome (1857) and Vienna (1861). As foreign minister in 1870, he instructed the French ambassador to Prussia, Vincent Benedetti, to hold the ill-fated interview with King (later Emperor) William I that led to the publication of the Ems dispatch, the flimsy pretext on which France declared war against Prussia (see Franco-Prussian War).
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