Philippe Berthelot (October 9, 1866 – November 22, 1934) was an important French diplomat, son of

Marcellin Berthelot Pierre Eugène Marcellin Berthelot (; 25 October 1827 – 18 March 1907) was a French chemist and Republican politician noted for the ThomsenBerthelot principle of thermochemistry. He synthesized many organic compounds from inorganic substance ...

and Sophie Berthelot. He was a republican (as opposed to monarchists and the

far-right leagues The far-right leagues (french: ligues d'extrême droite) were several French far-right movements opposed to parliamentarism, which mainly dedicated themselves to military parades, street brawls, demonstrations and riots. The term ''ligue'' was of ...

at the time). Born in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for i ...

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...

, in his later life he entered the French diplomatic service in 1889 and joined the foreign office in 1904. In a letter to his wife from the WWI front,

Henri Barbusse Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist and a member of the French Communist Party. He was a lifelong friend of Albert Einstein. Life The son of a French father and an English mother, Barbusse was born in Asnièr ...

wrote on May 30, 1915: "Yesterday, journalists came to our trench, accompanied by Philippe Berthelot, a senior Foreign Ministry official. He talked to me without recognizing me. Soldiers here regard this king of trench tourists with irony, one can say - with contempt". He managed with

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1945 to 1948. He also led the Czechoslovak government-in-exile 1939 to 1945 ...

in Paris and

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas. It may refer to: * Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), first President of Czechoslovakia * Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932), Czech footwear entrepreneur * Tomáš Berdych ( ...

in Washington a transformation of the Czechoslovak National Council on Czechoslovak Government from September to October 1918. PRECLÍK, Vratislav. Masaryk a legie (Masaryk and legions), váz. kniha, 219 str., vydalo nakladatelství Paris Karviná, Žižkova 2379 (734 01 Karvina, Czech Republic) ve spolupráci s Masarykovým demokratickým hnutím (Masaryk Democratic Movement, Prague), 2019, , pp. 87 - 89, 110 - 112, 124 - 128,140 - 148,184 - 190 In 1920, he became secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the rank of ambassador. After a violent campaign of far-right leagues, he was forced to step aside from 1922 to 1925 because of his involvement in the scandal opposing the

Banque Industrielle de Chine The Banque Industrielle de Chine (BIC, "Industrial Bank of China"; zh, 中法實業銀行) was a French bank with its main activities in China and French Indochina. It was created in 1913, expanded rapidly, but collapsed in 1921, causing major ...

, controlled by his brother, and the Banque d'Indochine, linked to

Paul Doumer Joseph Athanase Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer (; 22 March 18577 May 1932), was the President of France from 13 June 1931 until his assassination on 7 May 1932. Biography Joseph Athanase Doumer was born in Aurillac, in the Cantal ''dépar ...

, who was supported by the extreme right. After an investigation, he and his brother were cleared. He was friends with and helped the diplomatic careers of

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

and

Saint-John Perse Alexis Leger (; 31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975), better known by his pseudonym Saint-John Perse (; also Saint-Leger Leger), was a French poet-diplomat, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and evocative ...

. He died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1934.

References

Sources

*''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 13th edition, 1922, ''s.v.'' Philippe Berthelot. *''The Living Age'', 8th Series, Volume XXVII (July, August, September 1922), Boston, p 500. Available a
Google Books

External links

* 1866 births 1934 deaths People from Sèvres 19th-century French diplomats 20th-century French diplomats {{France-diplomat-stub