João António de Bianchi (b. Funchal, 1884; d. Lisbon, 1969) was a Madeiran diplomat and law graduate (Coimbra) and son of João António de Bianchi Viscount of Vale Paraíso. In the middle of the World War, he was admitted to the Diplomatic Corps in Portugal, integrating, in 1915, the Portuguese Delegation in London. With the armistice, in late 1918, he headed the secretariat of the Portuguese delegation in the Peace Conference in Versailles. He remained in London, where he became Ambassador, being promoted to Second Class Plenipotentiary Minister. From 1925 to 1929, he was Plenipotentiary Minister in Beijing, having signed, in Nanjing, in 1928, the important preliminary Friendship and Trade treaty between the Portuguese Republic and the Republic of China. During World War II, he also played an important role in Washington. First, as Plenipotentiary Minister (1933-1944) and then, as Ambassador (1944-1947), where he aimed to maintain the position of Portuguese neutrality throughout the conflict, discreetly managing the interests of the allies in the Azores and Cape Verde, thus avoiding Nazi retaliation. He also served as head of the Political Affairs Bureau, representative on the Superior Council of the Merchant Navy, president of the Portuguese delegation to the General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, in Montreal, and from 1947 to 1948 general secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to Rio de Janeiro in 1948 -1949. He was distinguished with the Grand Cross of the Order of Christ of Portugal, Officer of the Order of S. Tiago da Espada; Class War Cross, in 1916; Grand Cross of the Orders of Espiga de Ouro, from China, and Cruzeiro do Sul, from Brazil; Great Officer of the Orders of Poland Restituta, of Saint Olaf of Norway, of the Oak Crown, of Luxembourg and of Charles III of Spain, and member of the Order of the British Empire.

Credits: Madeira Photography Museum - Atelier Vicente's.

JOÃO ANTÓNIO DE BIANCHI (Viscount of Vale Paraíso) | portrait of João António de Bianchi with his family (the diplomat is isolated in the center)
8.2 x 8.2 cm | Double negative, glass | Gelatin-silver print VVP / 154.