Gaston Kahn

Camille Gaston Kahn was a French diplomat and colonial administrator for the French Colonial Empire in Southeast Asia and China. He settled several major diplomatic disputes between China and the French Empire, increased the size of the French Concession of Shanghai, medeatied the peace between warring parties after several revolutions, and improved the living conditions of the Colonial residents in the areas under his control.

History Kahn was brought up in what was called, in French, a "petty middle-class Jewish family." He was educated in several Eastern languages at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures. In 1886, shortly after the French conquest of Tonkin, and the creation of the Protectorate of Tonkin, Kahn was posted to his first overseas assignment there as the assistant and interpreter to the Inspector of Franco-Annamite Schools. While he was here in Hainan, Kahn was the co-chair of the Sino-French Commission alongside Véran Dejoux, the Consul of Pakhoi.

In 1904, Kahn took up his first responsibilities as a Consul General in his first French Concession, that of the French Concession of Canton. While the name "Consul General" is shared among many diplomatic posts around the world, at this time the French Consul Generals of the Concessions had powers akin to those of Territorial Governors: they had the authority to write and impose laws, were the highest ranking French officials in the Concession, and oftentimes were even in charge of the police forces or militias. Kahn nearly was able to force the railroad company to upkeep with modern labor practices to have them improve labor conditions, and begin drafting contracts for employees to review, but the company outmaneuvered him.

There is presently a gap in the records between 1906 and 1909.

In 1909, Kahn was appointed Consul General of the French Concession of Tianjin. The 1911 Revolution occurred while he was in this post. In Tianjin, he drafted the Recueil des Reglements Municipaur 1912, which was especially concerned with implementing a system for permitting building applications with regards to safety in construction. He ensured that all new buildings in the Concession were kept up to this code, which included regulations on eaves, protrusions, smoke ducts, firewalls, and other measures against fire. He set about towards improving relationships with the Municipal Council, and also repaired his predecessor's damaged relationship with the police force itself. On April 8, 1914, Kahn signed a treaty with the Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Yang Sheng to increase the size of the French Concession of Shanghai by 15 times its land area. While this was a downgrade in the power and force that the position held, it was also an elevation in status for him, as it meant visibility among the Western European elite classes.

Shortly afterward, in 1918, he was appointed minister plenipotentiary in Bangkok, in the Kingdom of Siam.

At some point, he was brought back to Paris, and made the inspector general of diplomatic and consular posts, head of the inspection service of all French works abroad, reporting directly to the Foreign Minister.

He also represented France at the League of Nations, and especially was present for the creation of the Opium Advisory Committee (OAC). He was assigned to be the French representative on the OAC in 1921.