Henri Phillippe Pétain

Pétain, Henri Phillippe (1856–1951), French World War I hero who became chief of state in the collaborationist Vichy regime (1940). Famous for his defense of Verdun (1916), he was made chief-of-staff (1917), and subsequently held important military offices. In 1934 he served briefly as war minister. Recalled from his post as ambassador to Spain in June 1940, he became premier and negotiated an armistice with the Nazis. As head of the Vichy government, he aided the Nazis, and in 1945 was convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment.

See also: Vichy; World War II.