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23-512: The syndicate, headed by Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla , sold at a price reduced from $ 110 million to only $ 40 million. US lawyer William Nelson Cromwell subsequently received a commission of $ 800,000 for his lobbying. The Spooner Act was followed by the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty of November 18, 1903. This United States federal legislation article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Panama -related article

46-546: A bilateral level were chiefly limited to relations between large, neighboring or closely allied powers, rarely to the very numerous small principalities , hardly worth the expense. Diplomatic missions were dispatched for specific tasks, such as negotiating a treaty bilaterally, or via a conference of plenipotentiaries , such as the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire . In such cases, it was normal to send

69-614: A large amount of stock. However, as de Lesseps' company had before, the New Panama Canal Company soon abandoned efforts to build the canal. It sold the land in Panama to the United States, in hopes that the company would not fail entirely. U.S. President Grover Cleveland , an anti-imperialist, avoided the canal issue. When the more supportive Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901, canal planning resumed in

92-453: A more junior administrator, possibly of lower social class or caste. Thus, the formal position held by an individual has not always been a reliable indicator of actual plenipotentiary authority. In modern times, the plenipotentiary title has sometimes been revived; for example, for the administrators of protectorates, or in other cases of indirect rule. Examples of plenipotentiary administration are given below. It may be impractical to hold

115-630: A new referendum for each step of a series of negotiated changes, and thus ministers might ask an electorate for plenipotentiary powers in advance, as occurred in the South African apartheid referendum, 1992 . Prior to the referendum, the state president F. W. de Klerk had already implemented extensive reforms (e.g., removing the Group Areas Act ). His right to negotiate these reforms was questioned by other parties (e.g., Andries Treurnicht's Conservative Party ), particularly in response to

138-717: A representative minister empowered to cast votes. For example, in the Treaty of Paris , ending the American Revolution, John Adams , Benjamin Franklin and John Jay were named "minister plenipotentiary of the United States" to the Netherlands, France and Spain, respectively. By the time of the Vienna Congress (1814–15), which codified diplomatic relations, ambassador had become a common title, and

161-413: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla ( French: [filip ʒɑ̃ byno vaʁija] ; 26 July 1859 – 18 May 1940) was a French engineer and soldier. With the assistance of American lobbyist and lawyer William Nelson Cromwell , Bunau-Varilla greatly influenced Washington's decision concerning the construction site for

184-671: The Panama Canal . He also worked closely with President Theodore Roosevelt in the latter's orchestration of the Panamanian Revolution . Bunau-Varilla was born on 26 July 1859 in Paris , France. After graduating at age 20 from the École Polytechnique , he remained in France for three years. In 1882 he abandoned his career in public works at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées and traveled to Panama. He arrived at

207-541: The Colombian forces south of the isthmus and Panamanian separatists. Bunau-Varilla, as Panama's ambassador to the United States, was invested with plenipotentiary powers by President Manuel Amador . Lacking formal consent of the government of Panama, he entered into negotiations with the American Secretary of State, John Hay , to give control of the Panama Canal area to the U.S. No Panamanians signed

230-789: The Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. He died in Paris on 18 May 1940. Bunau-Varilla lived a lavish lifestyle. Guests to his elegant Paris residence often reflected on the immaculate grandeur of the home. He was known to entertain friends and strategic partners at some of the most pricey locations of his time. His money was not made as an engineer during his first stay working on the first Panama Canal project (under de Lesseps). He made his fortune during his second stay in Panama from 1886 to 1889, where he ran his own company, Artigue & Sonderegger, together with his brother Maurice , who later became

253-588: The National Party's Potchefstroom by-election defeat in February 1992. Given how heavily entrenched apartheid was in the South African legal system at the time, de Klerk needed to nullify many previous bills and pass many new ones, making a series of individual referendums impractical. Consequently, as a practical solution to the political deadlock, de Klerk held a referendum on 17 March 1992 to ask

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276-532: The United States, for example by distributing Nicaraguan postage stamps featuring belching volcanos to senators. Through lobbying of businessmen, government officials, and the American public, Bunau-Varilla convinced the U.S. Congress to appropriate $ 40 million to the New Panama Canal Company, under the Spooner Act of 1902. The funds were contingent on negotiating a treaty with Colombia to provide land for

299-445: The United States. Bunau-Varilla energetically promoted a canal in Panama. With aid from the New Panama Canal Company's New York attorney, William Nelson Cromwell , he persuaded the government to select Panama as the canal site, as opposed to the popular alternative, Nicaragua . When opponents voiced their interest in constructing a canal through Nicaragua, which was a less politically volatile nation, Bunau-Varilla actively lobbied in

322-637: The canal in its territory of Panama. Colombia signed the Hay–Herrán Treaty in 1903, ceding land in Panama to the United States for the canal, but the Senate of Colombia rejected ratification. Bunau-Varilla's company was in danger of losing the $ 40 million of the Spooner Act, and so he drew up plans with Panamanian juntas in New York for war. By the eve of the war, Bunau-Varilla had already drafted

345-407: The common generic term for high diplomats of the crown or state was minister . It therefore became customary to style the chiefs of full ranking missions as minister plenipotentiary . This position was roughly equivalent to the modern ambassador , a term that historically was reserved mainly for missions between the great powers and also relating to the city-state of Venice . Permanent missions at

368-450: The era of rapid international transport or essentially instantaneous communication (such as telegraphy in the mid-19th century and then radio ), diplomatic mission chiefs were granted full (plenipotentiary) powers to represent their government in negotiations with their host nation. Conventionally, any representations made or agreements reached with a plenipotentiary would be recognized and complied with by their government. Historically,

391-499: The isthmus in 1884, employed with Ferdinand de Lesseps 's Panama Canal Company . He became general manager of the organization. After the Panama Canal Company went bankrupt in 1888 amidst charges of fraud, Bunau-Varilla was left stranded in Panama. He struggled to find a new way to construct the canal. When the New Panama Canal Company sprang up back in his native France, Bunau-Varilla sailed home, having purchased

414-477: The new nation's constitution, flag, and military establishment, and promised to float the entire government on his own checkbook. Bunau-Varilla's flag design was later rejected by the Panamanian revolutionary council on the grounds that it was designed by a foreigner. Although he prepared for a small-scale civil war, the violence was limited. As promised, President Roosevelt interposed a U.S. naval fleet between

437-449: The remoteness of the administered territory made it impracticable for the central government to maintain and exercise its policies, laws and initiatives directly. There have been instances where a mandate was conferred publicly on a senior official, such as a minor member of the ruling house (sometimes with the title of viceroy ), but with secret instructions drastically limiting their position's power by conferring plenipotentiary status on

460-421: The resulting Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty , though it was ratified in Panama on 2 December 1903. Bunau-Varilla had received his ambassadorship through financial assistance to the rebels, he had not lived in Panama for seventeen years, and he never returned, leading to the charge that he was "appointed Minister by cable". Panamanians long resented the trust given to him by the new Panamanian authorities. The treaty

483-540: The rich owner of Le Matin , a major Parisian newspaper. Plenipotentiary A plenipotentiary (from the Latin plenus "full" and potens "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers —authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign . When used as a noun more generally, the word can also refer to any person who has full powers. As an adjective, it describes something which confers full powers, such as an edict or an assignment. Before

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506-822: Was established as the only class above minister plenipotentiary. It gradually became the standard title for bilateral mission chiefs, as their ranks no longer tended to reflect the importance of the states, which came to be treated as formally equal. In modern times, heads of state and of government, and more junior ministers and officials, can easily meet or speak with each other personally. Therefore, ambassadors do not require plenipotentiary powers, even though they are designated and accredited as "extraordinary and plenipotentiary". Besides diplomatic plenipotentiaries, some permanent administrators are also given plenipotentiary powers. Central governments have sometimes conferred plenipotentiary status (either formally or de facto) on territorial governors. This has been most likely to occur when

529-578: Was finally undone by the Torrijos–Carter Treaties in 1977. Bunau-Varilla remained active as an engineer, a financial writer, and a leading specialist in water chlorination. In World War I , he served as an officer in the French army and lost a leg at the Battle of Verdun . As an elder lobbyist, he promoted altering the canal from a lock system to a sea-level waterway. In 1938, France awarded him

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