Gilberto Bosques, Mexican Ambassador at Large in Paris and Marseilles, 1939-42

Gilberto Bosques was a member of the revolutionary movement in Mexico in 1910.  He served in numerous occupations, including that of journalist, educator and politician.  He was appointed Ambassador at Large to France by Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas.  Bosques served as the Mexican Consul General in Paris and then in Marseilles from 1939 to 1942.  During this time, Bosques issued hundreds of visas to refugees, including Spanish Republican soldiers from the Spanish Civil War.  He also issued visas to thousands of Jews.  Among those he helped save were artists, politicians and other refugees from Germany, Austria, France and Spain.  Bosques supplied visas to Varian Fry and his Emergency Rescue Committee as well as numerous other rescue agencies.  Bosques maintained two estates outside of Marseilles (formerly castles) in which he housed and fed thousands of refugees.  He then arranged for transportation for them to the United States, Mexico and Argentina.

In November 1942, Bosques and members of the Mexican legation were arrested by French Vichy officials and Nazis.  Bosques and his staff were later released and returned to Mexico.  When Consul General Bosques returned to Mexico City, he was greeted by cheering throngs and a parade was held in his honor. 

After the war, Bosques served as a career diplomat in the Mexican foreign service until 1963.

Gilberto Bosques died in Mexico in 1995 at the age of 103.