People · French consul-general
Louis Ratard
巨籁达Jùlàidá
French consul-general at Shanghai in 1901-1909 under whom talks on enlarging the French Concession began and a road was named for him.
Louis Ratard (巨籁达, Jùlàidá) was French consul-general in Shanghai in 1901-1909 and the man after whom the Conseil Municipal named a new road in 1907.
He first served as acting consul-general from April 1901, went on leave in 1905 and returned with the full rank on 1 January 1906. He took leave again in July 1907 and came back in September 1908. In December 1909 he was promoted to be French minister to the United States and Colombia.
In office he handled missionary cases in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. With the daotai Rui Cheng (瑞澂) he opened talks on extending the French Concession outwards from the old city’s west gate region; the Conseil Municipal built a road outside the boundary in 1907, which it named after him. The first tram tracks in the French Concession were laid in his time, and the two men also settled how to treat the new land formed on the river bank in front of the French waterworks. The Qing government decorated him in 1907.
Timeline
- 1901Acting consul-general at Shanghai from 3 April1
- 1906Returns as consul-general on 1 January1
- 1907Conseil's road built outside the Concession named after him; honoured with a Qing decoration1
- 1908Consul-general again from 24 September1
- 1909Promoted to minister to the United States and Colombia in December1
Connections
- Rui Cheng瑞澂Opened talks with daotai Rui Cheng on enlarging the French Concession