Jacques Camille Paris

Jacques Camille Paris (2 November 1902 – 17 July 1953), was the first Secretary General of the Council of Europe from 11 August 1949 until his death.

During the Second World War he was head of the Commissariat Général aux Affaires Etrangères for the French government in London and Algiers.

[2] The Rose Window of Strasbourg Cathedral, donated by the Council of Europe in 1956 and featuring the European flag above the image of the Virgin Mary, is also dedicated to him.

When he died in a road accident in Talence in the summer of 1953, the Pope sent Paul Claudel a letter of condolence.

In return, the French accepted the British blueprint of an organisation with limited powers, including a parliamentary assembly that was purely consultative.