Jacques Ancel

Who was Jacques Ancel?

Jacques Ancel was a French geographer and geopolitician. He is author of several books, including Peoples and Nations of Balkans: political geography and Geopolitics.

After studying history and geography and professing as a teacher, Ancel was drafted to fight in World War I. Wounded three times, he was detached to the Headquarters of the French Army's Oriental Corps. After the war, he helped mediate the tense relations between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. In 1930, Ancel obtained his doctorate with the thesis La Macédoine, étude de colonisation contemporaine.

He taught at the University of Paris' Institute of Higher International Studies, and was a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy and of other scientific forums. He was a knight of the Légion d'honneur.