Hélène Soubelet is a veterinary doctor with a postgraduate degree in plant pathology. She was named Knight of the Legion of Honor in December 2019. She began her career in 1998 as head of the departmental veterinary services of the Puy-de Dôme and then, five years later, of the Sarthe. Three years later, she joined the national plant protection laboratory where she was in charge, at the national level, of the development of methods for the detection and identification of plant pests. In 2010, she joined the Ministry of the Environment as assistant to the head of the biotechnology and agriculture office and then became head of the Biodiversity and sustainable management of environments mission in the Ministry's research department. Since April 1, 2017, Hélène Soubelet has taken over the general management of the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB).