Napoléon, comte Daru, was a French soldier and politician. Son of Pierre Daru and godson of Napoléon and Joséphine

Joséphine de Beauharnais

Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...

, he studied at the lycée Louis-le-Grand, then at the l'Ecole polytechnique and at the l'Ecole militaire d'application in Metz

Metz

Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

. After becoming second-lieutenant of artillery in 1830, he participated with military honor in the French conquest of Algeria

French conquest of Algeria

The French conquest of Algeria took place between 1830 and 1847. Using an 1827 diplomatic slight by Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Ottoman Regency of Algiers, against its consul as a pretext, France invaded and quickly seized Algiers in 1830, and rapidly took control of other coastal communities...

. He became peer of France in 1833, member of the Assemblée Nationale in 1848 and 1849, member of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques in 1860, deputy from the department of Manche

Manche

Manche is a French department in Normandy named after La Manche , which is the French name for the English Channel.- History :Manche is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

 in 1869 and 1871, minister of foreign affairs in the cabinet of Émile Ollivier

Émile Ollivier

Olivier Émile Ollivier was a French statesman. Although a republican, he served as a cabinet minister under Emperor Napoleon III and led the process of turning his regime into a "liberal Empire".-Early life and career:Émile Ollivier was born in Marseille...

in 1870, and senator from the department of Manche between 1876 and 1879.