Chief minister of France

The chief minister of France or, closer to the French term, chief minister of state (French: principal ministre d'État), or prime minister of France[1] were and are informal titles given to various personages who received various degrees of power to rule the Kingdom of France on behalf of the monarch during the Ancien Régime ("Old Regime").[2] The titles were however informal and used more as job descriptions.

History

As the titles were unofficial, the monarch maintained all his powers, giving to the chief minister the task of carrying out his orders. However, during the times when the king was absent from the country, very sick, unwilling or unfit to govern, the chief minister had a powerful role, becoming the real mind behind the administration of the country.[3]

Usually, the chief ministers were members of the King's Council (the archaic form of cabinet) or high members of the French nobility or the Catholic clergy.

With the eruption of the French Revolution in 1789, the chief minister progressively lost importance and influence in national politics. Finally, with the arrival of the constitutional monarchy in 1791, the role of chief minister ceased to exist.

In fact, according to the Encyclopédie Larousse, after 1661, Louis XIV and his descendants refused to allow one of their ministers to be more important than the others, so the terms were not in use.[4]

List

  First Estate (Clergy)       Second Estate (Nobility)       Third Estate (Commoners)
Officeholder Official Position Term in Office Estate King
and Reign
Anne de Montmorency,
Baron and Lord of Chantilly
(1493–1567)		 Grand Master of France
(1526–1558)		 1 January 1515 1541 Second Reign of
Francis I
1515–1547
Claude d'Annebault,
Baron of Retz
(1495–1552)		 Admiral of France
(1543–1552)		 1541 31 March 1547 Second
Anne,
Duke of Montmorency
(1493–1567)		 Grand Master of France
(1526–1558)		 1 April 1547 10 August 1557 Second Reign of
Henry II
1547–1559
— Position vacant
(absolute rule by Henry II)		 King of France
(1547–1559)		 11 August 1557 10 July 1559 N/A
Francis,
Duke of Guise
(1519–1563)		 Grand Master of France
(1559–1563)		 10 July 1559 5 December 1560 Second Reign of
Francis II
1559–1560
Michel de l'Hôpital
(1507–1573)		 Chancellor of France
(1560–1573)		 5 December 1560 13 March 1573 † Third Reign of
Charles IX
1560–1574
Cardinal René de Birague
(1506–1583)		 Chancellor of France
(1573–1583)		 30 May 1574 24 November 1583 † First Reign of
Henry III
1574–1589
Philippe Hurault,
Count of Cheverny
(1528–1599)		 Chancellor of France
(1583–1588)		 24 November 1583 12 May 1588 Second
— Position vacant
(absolute rule by Henry III)		 King of France
(1574–1589)		 12 May 1588 2 August 1589 N/A
Maximilien de Béthune,
1st Duke of Sully
(1560–1641)		 Superintendent of Finances
(1600–1611)		 2 August 1589 29 January 1611 Second Reign of
Henry IV
1589–1610
Nicolas de Neufville,
1st Marquis of Villeroy
(1543–1617)		 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
(1594–1616)		 30 January 1611 9 August 1616 Second Reign of
Louis XIII
1610–1643
Concino Concini,
1st Marquis d'Ancre
(1575–1617)		 Marshal of France
(1613–1617)		 9 August 1616 24 April 1617 † Second
Charles d'Albert,
1st Duke of Luynes
(1578–1621)		 Grand Falconer of France
(1616–1621)		 24 April 1617 15 December 1621 † Second
— Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XIII)		 King of France
(1610–1643)		 15 December 1621 12 August 1624 N/A
Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis,
1st Duke of Richelieu and Fronsac
(1585–1642)		 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs & War
(1616–1617)		 12 August 1624 4 December 1642 † First
Cardinal Jules Mazarin,
1st Duke of Mayenne and Rethel
(1602–1661)		 Bishop of Metz
(1652–1658)		 5 December 1642 9 March 1661 † First Reign of
Louis XIV
1643–1715
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
(1619–1683)		 Controller-General of Finances
(1661–1683)		 9 March 1661 6 September 1683 † Third
François-Michel Le Tellier,
1st Marquis of Louvois
(1641–1691)		 Secretary of State for War & Maison du Roi
(1662–1691)		 7 September 1683 16 July 1691 † Second
— Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XIV)		 King of France
(1643–1715)		 17 July 1691 1 September 1715 N/A
Cardinal Guillaume Dubois
(1656–1723)		 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
(1718–1723)		 12 September 1715 10 August 1723 † First Reign of
Louis XV
1715–1774
Philippe II,
13th Duke of Orléans
(1674–1723)		 Regent of the Kingdom
(1715–1723)		 10 August 1723 2 December 1723 † Second
Louis Henri,
7th Prince of Condé
(1692–1740)		 Grand Master of France
(1710–1740)		 2 December 1723 11 June 1726 Second
Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury
(1653–1743)		 Bishop of Fréjus
(1699–1715)		 11 June 1726 29 January 1743 † First
— Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XV)		 King of France
(1715–1774)		 29 January 1743 3 December 1758 N/A
Étienne François de Choiseul
1st Duke of Choiseul
(1719–1785)		 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs & War
(1761–1770)		 3 December 1758 24 December 1770 Second
René-Nicolas de Maupeou
(1714–1792)		 Chancellor of France
(1768–1774)		 25 December 1770 23 August 1774 Second
Jacques Turgot
(1727–1781)		 Controller-General of Finances
(1774–1776)		 24 August 1774 12 May 1776 Third Reign of
Louis XVI
1774–1792
Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux,
3rd Count of Maurepas
(1701–1781)		 Minister of State
(1776–1781)		 14 May 1776 21 November 1781 † Nobility
Charles Gravier,
Count of Vergennes
(1717–1787)		 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
(1774–1787)		 21 November 1781 13 February 1787 † Second
Archbishop Étienne Charles de Loménie
(1727–1794)		 Archbishop of Toulouse
(1763–1788)		 1 May 1787 25 August 1788 First
Jacques Necker
(1732–1804)		 Controller-General of Finances
(1777–1781/1788–1789)		 25 August 1788 11 July 1789 Third
Louis Auguste Le Tonnelier,
Baron of Breteuil
(1730–1807)		 Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
(1783–1788)		 11 July 1789 16 July 1789 Second
Jacques Necker
(1732–1804)		 Controller-General of Finances
(1777–1781/1788–1789)		 16 July 1789 3 September 1790 Third
Armand Marc,
Count of Montmorin and Saint-Hérem
(1745–1792)		 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
(1787–1789)		 3 September 1790 3 September 1791 Second
— Constitutional cabinet
(supervisioned by Legislative Assembly)		 N/A 3 September 1791 21 September 1792 N/A

After the 10 August 1792, Louis XVI and his family were imprisoned. However, after the fall of the First Empire in 1814, "Chief Ministers" appeared to represent the monarchy until its full Restoration. The position definitively ending only with the creation of the office of "President of the Council of Ministers" in 1815.

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)		 Prior/Contemporary office Term of office Political Party Government King
(Reign)
Charles Maurice,
Prince of Talleyrand
(1754–1838)		 Minister of Foreign Affairs
(1799–1807)		 1 April 1814 2 May 1814 Nonpartisan Prov. Gov. Louis XVIII

(1814–1815)
Creation of the Charter of 1814. Napoleon exiled in his "reign" on Elba. Removed by Louis XIII after his arrive from England, due to his Bonapartist past.
Pierre-Louis,
Count of Blacas[5]
(1771–1839)		 Minister for the Maison du Roi
(1814–1815)		 2 May 1814 8 July 1815 Legitimist King's Ministry
De facto Chief Minister, due to Louis XVIII's diffidence to Talleyrand. Despite Talleyrand was envoy to Congress of Vienna, Metternich negotiate secretly with Louis XVIII and Blacas. Fled with the Royals to Ghent during the Hundred Days. Felled in disgrace after the return in Paris, he was dismissed and send as Ambassador to the Two Sicilies.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Testament Politique du Cardinal Duc de Richelieu, Premier Ministre de France sous le Règne de Louïs XIII
  2. ↑ "Ancien Régime". Larousse.
  3. ↑ Jean Bérenger (1996). Histoire, économie et société, Vol. 15-1. Persée. pp. 37–46.
  4. ↑ Ancien Régime in Encyclopédie Larousse ("Après 1661, Louis XIV impose une nouvelle formule, qui joue à la fois sur les ministres et sur les conseils, sans accepter la primauté d'un ministre.")
  5. ↑ Emmanuel Waresquiel (2003). Talleyrand, le prince immobile. Broché. p. 488.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.