François Guizot, the French foreign minister, had been a supporter of friendly relations with Britain and had served as France's ambassador in London in 1840. During Guizot's tenure in London, the two countries had been brought to the brink of war on the matter of the Syrian question, before France's king Louis-Philippe intervened to de-escalate the crisis. The second Soult government was formed in autumn of 1840 in France with Guizot as foreign minister, and Guizot set himself to the task of restoring friendly relationships with other European powers – including Britain – who had sided with the Ottoman Empire in the crisis. Guizot became a personal friend of the British foreign minister, Lord Aberdeen. Relations between Britain and France warmed significantly during the tenure of the Conservative Peel government.