Cercle de l'Union interalliée
The cercle de l'Union interalliée, also known as the Cercle interallié, is a private social and dining club established in 1917 at No. 33 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, France. The club's second president was Ferdinand Foch, Marshal of France. It adjoins the British Embassy and an annex of the embassy of Japan.
The club includes royalty and political figures among its international members.
History
The Union Interalliée was founded in 1917, at the time of the official American entry into World War I. This was after the voluntary aviators from the Lafayette Escadrille had come to France to increase the number of those who were fighting for the same cause on French soil.
The founders of the Union Interalliée (the Count of Beaumont, Paul Dupuy, the Count J. de Bryas, Arthur Meyer, MJ of Sillac) suggested establishing a place of welcome providing moral and material resources to the officers and personalities of the Allied nations, in order to develop the allied life that had just begun.
Thanks to the support they received from several statesmen, ambassadors and field marshals and the assistance from new collaborators (Count of Andigne, Bardac, du Breuil Saint-Germain, André Citroën, L. Dumontet, the Count of Fels, who created, along with the former, the directing committee, chaired by Vice Admiral Fournier), they founded the Union Interalliée in one of the most beautiful mansions in Paris, the hotel Henri de Rothschild, which had been generously offered to them. In 1920, the club, having set up a real estate company, acquired the building for the equivalent of today's € 1,067,143.
The war having ended, the need for the Union Interalliée was apparent to everybody, as it was more necessary than ever to maintain harmony between the people who had fought together. The work that had begun in 1917 received an official consecration in 1920 when the public authorities recognized its importance in diplomatic relations between the allied nations.[1] On 1 June 1920, Marshal Foch became the second president of the Cercle.
In 2004, Chilean-born American interior designer Juan Pablo Molyneux designed the interiors of the clubhouse.[2][3]
Club founders in 1917
- Count Marc de Beaumont [4]
- Marquis de Bryas
- Paul Dupuy
- Arthur Meyer
- Jean de Sillac
- Count d'Andigné
- S. Barbac
- Mr. du Breuil de Saint-Germain
- André Citroën
- Léon Dumontet
- Count Edmond de Fels
- Vice-admiral Fournier
Presidents of the club
- 1917-1920 : Vice-Admiral Fournier
- 1920-1928 : Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch
- 1928-1935 : Jules Cambon
- 1935-1937 : Gaston Doumergue
- 1938-1942 : Charles-Louis de Beauvau-Craon
- 1942-1953 : Admiral Lacaze
- 1953-1959 : Count Stanislas de Castellane
- 1959-1975 : Prince Jean-Louis de Faucigny-Lucinge
- 1975-1999 : Count Jean de Beaumont
- 1999-2009 : Pierre-Christian Taittinger
- since 2009 : Count Denis de Kergorlay
Notable members
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Douglas Ramsey Steiner
Reciprocal clubs in the world
There are a number of reciprocal clubs worldwide including:
- Australia : Tasmanian Club;Australian Club, Sydney
- Belgium : Cercle Royal Gaulois
- Canada : Royal Canadian Yacht Club; Vancouver Club; Mount Royal Club
- England : The Royal Automobile Club The Arts Club; Carlton Club; East India Club; The Hurlingham Club; National Liberal Club; Naval & Military Club; Oxford and Cambridge Club; The Reform Club; Savage Club; The Cavalry and Guards Club
- Finland : Helsinki Bourse Club
- Germany : Industrie-Club, Düsseldorf; International Club Berlin, IC-B, Berlin; Übersee-Club e.V., Hamburg
- Hong Kong : American Club of Hong Kong
- Italy : Circolo Canottieri Aniene, Rome; Circolo Artistico Tunnel, Genova; Circolo Bellini, Palermo; Circolo dell'Unione, Venezia;
- Japan : Tokyo American Club
- Portugal : Club Portuense
- Singapore : Tanglin Club
- South Africa : The Cape Town Club
- Spain: Sociedad Bilbaina, Bilbao. Circulo Ecuestre, Barcelona.Real Gran Peña, Madrid
- Sweden : The Royal Bachelors' Club, Nya Sällskapet, Stockholm
- Switzerland : Club Baur au Lac, Grande Société de Berne
- Turkey : Circle D'orient
- United States : Harmonie Club of New York City, Army Navy Club of Washington, DC; Cosmos Club; Delaware Dining Society; Francisca Club, San Francisco; Harvard Club of Boston; Jonathan Club, Los Angeles; Los Angeles Athletic Club; Racquet Club of Philadelphia; Rainier Club, Seattle; Somerset Club, Boston; Standard Club of Chicago; Sulgrave Club, Washington, D.C.; Union Club of Boston; University Club of San Francisco; University Club of St. Louis; University Club of Washington, DC Metropolitan Club, San Francisco, CA; Algonquin Club, Boston, MA;Yale Club of New York City, New York City; Century Association, New York City; Metropolitan Club, Washington, DC.
References
- ↑
- ↑ Joshua Levine, Interior Designer Juan Pablo Molyneux: The Patron Saint of Lost Arts, The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2014
- ↑ Charlotte Cowles, ARCHITECT OF DREAMS: JUAN PABLO MOLYNEUX: Designer Juan Pablo Molyneux creates his own castle in Manhattan., Harpers Bazaar, January 27, 2015
- ↑ http://www.union-interalliee.fr/historique_cercle.php?lg=fr
Sources
- The yearly book printed by the "Cercle de l'Union interalliée"
- History: The Union Interalliée website