Maurice Couve de Murville, who died on December 24th, 1999, aged 92, is remembered as a skilful Gaullist fielder of Britain's - and also the Republic's - application to join the Common Market during his 10 years in office.
But "Monsieur Cool" spoke his mind a few years ago on BBC television, saying that de Gaulle's veto was "betrayal of a kind", considering Britain had liberated France from the Nazis.
In 1964 he had a friendly meeting with Taoiseach Sean Lemass on Ireland's first application. But he disappointed by coming up with a formula of mere "association" with the EEC. He had just offered Spain the same.
There was speculation that this approach to "relatively underdeveloped countries" was to pave the way to solving the EEC's - or de Gaulle's - problem with Britain. And some even speculated he was supporting Irish unity - within an EEC context. Though he may merely have been putting manners on his master's voice in the 1960s he was considered less dismissive of our European aspiration than was de Gaulle.
The year before his Irish visit he had a charming meeting with Edward Heath, then a junior minister, but had failed to mention that in two days time his president would humiliate Britain with a "non". A commentator pertly sent up Whitehall's outrage: "The British did not take de Gaulle's veto lying down. They cancelled a visit to Paris by Princess Margaret."
After the Republic joined in 1973, Maurice Couve de Murville became a sponsor of the Ewart-Biggs Memorial Fund, intended to promote better understanding between Britain and Ireland as well as closer relations among EEC countries.
A Huguenot, he was born the son of a judge in Rheims on January 24th, 1907. He was seen as the cool, polite, embodiment of French detachment.
Essentially a professional diplomat, his world view was firmly centred on France.
In the Vichy administration he was a senior official in finance, his original expertise. After the Allies landed in North Africa in 1943 he fled to Algeria, where he was briefly secretary to General Giraud, de Gaulle's rival as leader of the Free French, before joining de Gaulle. After the war he was ambassador to Rome, Cairo, Washington and Bonn, as well as holding many other high offices including that of finance minister.
He went on to become one of France's shortest serving prime ministers after de Gaulle passed him that poisoned chalice following "les evenements' ' of May 1968. His cabinet career ended in 1969, with de Gaulle's. "A new page will be turned in the history of France," he said.
In the 1970s he continued to influence French foreign policy as chairman of the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee. As a senator (until 1995) he opposed France's participating in the Gulf War.
He was proud to say that his wife, Jacqueline, an amateur painter whom he married in 1932, is related to another Huguenot former foreign minister, Francois Guizot (who served from 1840-47).
He is survived by his wife and three daughters.
Maurice Couve de Murville: born 1907; died December, 1999