Barthou Jean Louis

Jean Louis Barthou (August 25, 1862, Oloron-Sainte-Marie – October 9, 1934, Marseille) was a French politician, public figure, publicist and lawyer.

From 1889, he was constantly elected as a member of the French Parliament. In 1913, he served as French Prime Minister. He led the French delegation at the Genoa Conference in 1922. He held the position of Minister of Justice in 1922-24 and again from 1926-29. In February to October 1934, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs. A member of the French Academy of Sciences since 1918. He advocated for cooperation with the USSR to ensure France's security against Hitler's Germany in 1933. He was assassinated by Croatian terrorists in Marseille alongside the King of Yugoslavia.

Barthou actively supported the international recognition of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–21). Following the annexation of the country by Soviet Russia in February 1921, he advocated for the restoration of Georgia's independence. At the Genoa Conference in 1922, he decisively advocated for the protection of Georgia's international rights. Furthermore, he instructed the French delegation and French government that Soviet Russia should not be allowed to represent Georgia at the conference.

In one of these instructions presented to the French government, Barthou wrote: "The French government, which, along with its allies, recognized de jure former government of Georgia, cannot today negotiate on the issue of Georgia with a representative of the authorities who expelled its legitimate government from Georgia."

Barthou had close friendships with several prominent figures of the Georgian political emigration.

L. Urushadze