Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe

In October 1814, Canning had assisted Lord Castlereagh as an aid during the Congress of Vienna and helped negotiate the neutrality of Swiss. After his journey to the United States as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister-Plenipotentiary to the United States (1820-1824), Canning returned and became Ambassador to Constantinople in 1825 until 1828. Upon returning home, Canning pursued a career in domestic politics, but never gained a particularly influential position. His international ambitions were rekindled in 1841,when he was reappointed British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. He held this function for seventeen years, during which he became involved in the Crimean War and the Eastern Question and also experienced the build-up to the Syrian Civil War. Canning became one of the leading figures in Constantinople as British influence over the Ottoman Empire increased through time.