Ferdinand Marie, vicomte de Lesseps

French diplomat. Founder of the Suez Canal Company. He became consul in Cairo and Alexandria, and became friends with the Egyptian prince Said. He also became interested in the Suez Canal plan, which was proposed by the Saint-Simonists at the time, to connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. In 1849, he was tasked with diplomatic negotiations when the French army under General Oudinot invaded Rome, but he was reprimanded for exceeding his authority in his agreement with the Roman Republic, and resigned from his position as a diplomat. When Said became governor in 1854, he was invited to travel to Egypt, and with the special assistance of Governor Said Pasha, he founded the Suez Canal Company. Supported by Empress Eugénie and Napoleon III, he overcame various difficulties with indomitable faith and finally succeeded in opening the canal in November 1869. For this achievement, he was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences. Furthermore, in 1881, he became president of the Panama Canal Company, which had just been established, and worked on the difficult project of digging the Panama Canal. In 1884, he was elected a member of the French Academie, but the company went bankrupt in 1889 due to a combination of difficult construction work, mismanagement, and difficulties in fundraising. Then came the so-called Panama Scandal. Lesseps was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 3,000 francs for breach of trust and fraud. The Supreme Court acquitted him, citing the statute of limitations, but the failure of the business caused him to develop a mental disorder, and he was forced to spend his final years in pain.

[Honike Ryu]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの外交官。スエズ運河会社の設立者。カイロ、アレクサンドリアの領事になり、エジプトの王子サイードの親交を得るとともに、当時サン・シモン主義者が提唱していた地中海と紅海を結ぶスエズ運河の計画に興味をもつようになった。1849年のウディノ将軍麾下(きか)のフランス軍のローマ進攻の際に外交交渉の任務を負ったが、ローマ共和国との協定が越権行為であると譴責(けんせき)され、外交官を辞した。1854年にサイードが総督の座につくと招かれてエジプトに渡り、総督サイード・パシャの特別の取り計らいを得てスエズ運河会社を設立した。皇后ウジェニーとナポレオン3世に支援されながら、諸困難を不屈の信念で克服して、ついに1869年11月に運河の開通に成功した。この功績によって科学アカデミー会員に選ばれた。さらに、1881年には設立されてまもないパナマ運河会社の社長に就任し、パナマ運河開削という難事業に取り組んだ。1884年にフランス・アカデミー会員に選ばれたが、会社のほうは、難工事、乱脈経営に資金調達の行き詰まりが重なり、1889年に破産した。そしていわゆるパナマ疑獄事件（パナマ事件）が起こった。レセップスは背任と詐欺のかどで禁錮5年と罰金3000フランの刑を科された。最高裁判所は時効を援用して無罪にしたが、事業の失敗から精神障害を起こし、痛ましい晩年を送らねばならなかった。

［本池　立］

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