Philippe Berthelot
Philippe Berthelot was an important French diplomat, son of Marcellin Berthelot. He was a republican.
He entered the French diplomatic service in 1889 and joined the foreign office in 1904. He managed with Edvard Beneš in Paris and Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in Washington a transformation of the Czechoslovak National Council on Czechoslovak Government from September to October 1918. 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, controlled by his brother, and the Banque d'Indochine, linked to Paul Doumer, 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 and Saint-John Perse.
