Viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty.
In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...
Joseph (Joë) Marie Clément Guillaume Berryer (
Liège
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
, 9 March 1897 –
Knokke
Knokke () is a town in the municipality of Knokke-Heist, which is located in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. The town itself has 15,708 inhabitants (2007), while the municipality of Knokke-Heist has 33,818 inhabitants (2009).
...
, 1 September 1978) was a
Belgian diplomat.
Family
Joseph Berryer, issue of the , was one of five children of Catholic Minister and Senator (1868–1936) and of Géraldine Dallemagne (1873–1957).
Tokyo
In 1922 he became a Secretary at the Belgian Embassy in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, where he married Ghislaine de Bassompierre (1904–1978), daughter of Ambassador Baron Albert de Bassompierre. They had a daughter and three sons.
Madrid during the civil war
On 15 September 1934 he became the Belgian consul in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. On 8 August 1936, at the start of the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, the Belgian Ambassador Robert Everts left Madrid for
. Berryer stayed in Madrid and motivated the Belgian government to recognise the ''
Bando nacional''. He hid several people in the embassy who threatened communists such as the archbishop of Madrid and banker
Luis Urquijo, marquess of Bolarque. He helped people by letting them escape through the frontlines to
Valencia
Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
. On 29 December 1936, Jacques de Borchgrave, son of diplomat
Roger de Borchgrave, was shot dead by the
Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
in a ditch 5 kilometres away from
Fuencarral
Fuencarral is a neighborhood located in the northern part of Madrid, Spain. It includes the municipal area of the ancient town of Fuencarral, which was annexed to the city of Madrid by a decree of November 10, 1950. Administratively, Fuencarral b ...
. Berryer declared that Jacques de Borchgrave was an attaché and demanded clarifications and reparations from
Francisco Largo Caballero
Francisco Largo Caballero (15 October 1869 – 23 March 1946) was a Spanish politician and trade unionist who served as the prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. He was one of the historic leaders of the ...
. Spain refused to recognise de Borchgrave as a member of the diplomatic staff.
Berlin
On 28 July 1937, Berryer was sent to the Belgian embassy in Berlin. He stayed there until May 1940, the start of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
for Belgium.
Go-between
After Belgium's surrender, Berryer found himself somewhere in the vicinity of the Belgian government in
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...
and, afterwards,
Vichy
Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789.
Known f ...
and
Sauveterre-de-Guyenne
Sauveterre-de-Guyenne (, literally ''Sauveterre of Guyenne''; Gascon: ''Sauvatèrra de Guiana'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
Toponymy
Before 1896, Sauveterre-de-Guyenne was better known ...
. He was sent to
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
in the beginning of June 1940 to start negotiations with king
Leopold III of Belgium
Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the Battle of Belgi ...
's ''chef de cabinet'' . He drafted a report, in line with his intentions to advance relations between the king and his government. King Leopold III was not satisfied with the passage that the king morally supported the government. Fredericq, as well, had to contradict the report. In the long term, Berryer's report would be instrumentalised during the
Royal Question (including by
Jacques Pirenne
Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...
) to show that the king wanted to continue the war early on.
At the start of July 1940, Berryer was charged with a new mission. He travelled to Brussels and contacted the king's cabinet. He had two meetings with Leopold III, who told him that he could not contact the
Belgian government in exile
The Belgian Government in London (; ), also known as the Pierlot IV Government, was the government in exile of Belgium between October 1940 and September 1944 during World War II. The government was wikt:tripartite, tripartite, involving minis ...
and Berryer had to let the government know that no contact could be established. The king and his cabinet did not accept the government's authority anymore.
After the departure of the most important government members to London, Berryer returned to Belgium. He became part of a small number of diplomats that, under the lead of
Pierre van Zuylen and
Jacques Davignon, advocated the maintenance of a Department of Foreign Affairs to the occupying forces. Berryer negotiated with , the diplomatic assistant of
Alexander von Falkenhausen
Alexander Ernst Alfred Hermann Freiherr von Falkenhausen (29 October 187831 July 1966) was a German general and military advisor to Chiang Kai-shek. He was an important figure during the Sino-German cooperation to reform the Chinese army. In ...
. An approval of the proposal would have led to
collaboration with Nazi Germany
In World War II, many governments, organizations and individuals collaborated with the Axis powers, "out of conviction, desperation, or under coercion". Nationalists sometimes welcomed German or Italian troops they believed would liberate their ...
. The Department of Foreign Affairs, however, was disbanded and their proposal refused.
Luxembourg and Holy See
Contrary to his colleagues who stayed in Belgium during the war or lost the confidence of the government-in-exile like , , , and others, Berryer could continue his career as a diplomat.
From 1945 to 1953, he was the Ambassador in
Luxemburg. and from 1953 to 1957 at the
Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
.
Madrid
From 4 April 1957 to 1964, he returned to Madrid, now as an Ambassador. He was involved with the preparations of the marriage of king
Baudouin of Belgium
Baudouin (; 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993) was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the last Belgian king to be sovereign of the Congo, before it became independent in 1960 and became the Democratic Republi ...
with
Fabiola de Mora y Aragón
Fabiola Fernanda María-de-las-Victorias Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón (11 June 1928 – 5 December 2014) was List of Belgian consorts, Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Baudouin from their marriage in 1960 until his death in 1993. ...
and the granting of asylum to
Moïse Tshombe
Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (sometimes written Tshombé; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 1969) was a List of people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese businessman and politician. He served as the president of the secessionist State of ...
in Spain.
[ ]
Literature
*
Camille Gutt, ''La Belgique au Carrefour, 1940–1944'', Paris, Fayard, 1971.
* Oscar Coomans de Brachène, ''État présent de la noblesse belge'', Annuaire 1984, Brussels, 1984.
* Jan Velaers & Herman Van Goethem, ''Leopold III. De Koning, het Land, de Oorlog'', Tielt, Lannoo, 1994.
* Pierre d'Ydewalle, ''Mémoires, 1912–1940'', Tielt, Lannoo, 1994.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berryer, Joseph
Belgian diplomats
Belgian nobility
1897 births
1978 deaths
Consuls
Ambassadors of Belgium to Spain
Ambassadors of Belgium to Luxembourg
Ambassadors of Belgium to the Holy See
Belgian people of World War II