He was also called (From 1916) first Viscount Grey of Fallodon. Grey was a British statesman whose 11 years (1905-16) as British foreign secretary, the longest uninterrupted tenure of that office in history, were marked by the start of World War I, about which he made a comment that became proverbial: "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime."

Edward Grey was born in London, in 1862. He succeeded to his grandfather Sir George Grey’s baronetcy and estate in 1882. Edward Grey’s political career has begun in 1885 when he joined the Liberal Party. He became the foreign secretary in 1905 and remained in this duty until 1916. He was the creator of the Entente Cordiale between Britain, France and Russia. However, to avoid from the military power of Germany, he suspended the treaty. Yet, he could not hinder Britain’s entrance to the war on the side of France and Russia (4 August 1914).