Jaime Batalha Reis

Jaime Batalha Reis was born in Lisbon on December 24, 1847, and died on January 24, 1935, in Torres Vedras. He graduated and was a full professor of Microscopy and Plant Nosology at the General Institute of Agriculture. He was also a journalist, literary critic, and a member of the Generation of 70, where he counted several friends, including Eça de Queirós and Antero de Quental. In 1882, while a full professor of Microscopy and Plant Nosology at the General Institute of Agriculture, he was appointed to the consular career, being named consul in Newcastle, where Eça de Queirós had been stationed, who had meanwhile assumed the Consulate in Bristol. Jaime Batalha Reis left in August 1883 with his family for his new post, remaining in the diplomatic career for nearly thirty years, until his retirement in 1921. He published numerous articles in the press, especially in England and France, on topics related to African issues, and was invited to join several societies, notably geographical societies, where he regularly gave lectures. In this context, he was also an important member in the creation and development of the Lisbon Geographical Society. Alongside his work as Consul, he was entrusted with several confidential missions, such as the financial negotiations in Paris regarding Portugal's credit situation (1890-1891) and his mission in Berlin to secure German support for Portugal (1888-1891). He also served as Portugal's diplomatic representative in Petrograd, where he witnessed the 1917 Revolution and was involved in the diplomatic events that followed. He only managed to leave in 1918 through Murmansk. In the same year, he was the Portuguese delegate to the Paris Peace Conference and, later, Portugal's representative on the commission that would draft the Covenant of the League of Nations. Upon returning to Portugal, he created the Secretariat of the League of Nations and laid the foundations for the Portuguese Association for the League of Nations, of which he would become vice-president.