Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie
Encyclopedia
Achille-Léonce-Victor-Charles, 3rd duc de Broglie, called Victor de Broglie (28 November 1785 – 25 January 1870) was a French statesman and diplomat
. He was twice President of the Council during the July Monarchy
, from August 1830 to November 1830 and from March 1835 to February 1836. Victor de Broglie was close to the liberal Doctrinaires
who opposed the ultra-royalist
s and were absorbed, under Louis-Philippe's rule, by the Orléanists.
, the youngest child and only son of Charles-Louis-Victor, prince de Broglie
and grandson of Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie
. While his grandfather emigrated
, his parents were imprisoned during the Terror
. His father was guillotine
d in 1794, but his mother the former Countess Sophie de Rosen (Paris 10 Mar 1764 – Paris 31 Oct 1828) managed to escape to Switzerland
, where she remained until the fall of Robespierre. She then returned to Paris with her children – three older daughters and one son – and lived there quietly until 1796, when she married the Marc-René-Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d'Argenson, grandson of Louis XV
's minister of war. On his grandfather's death in 1804, Victor de Broglie became the third duc de Broglie. Under the care of his stepfather, the young duke received a careful and liberal education and made his entrée into the aristocratic
and literary society of Paris
under the First French Empire
. In 1821, his wife Albertine, the daughter of Erik Magnus Staël von Holstein
and Madame de Staël, gave birth to Albert
, who would become the fourth duke of Broglie.
presided in person. In addition, he was sent by the emperor on diplomatic missions, as an attaché
, to various countries. Though he had never been in sympathy with the principles of the Empire, the duc de Broglie was not one of those who rejoiced at its downfall. In common with all men of experience and sense, he realized the danger to France of the rise to power of the forces of violent reaction. With Decazes
and Richelieu
, he saw that the only hope for a calm future lay in the reconciliation of the Restoration
with the French Revolution
. By the influence of his uncle, Amédée de Broglie, his right to a peerage had been recognized, and to his own great surprise he received, in June 1814, a summons from Louis XVIII
to the Chamber of Peers. There, after the Hundred Days
, he distinguished himself by his courageous defence of Marshal Ney
, for whose acquittal he, alone of all the peers, both spoke and voted.
After this defiant act of opposition it was perhaps fortunate that his impending marriage gave him an excuse for leaving the country. On 15 February 1816, he was married at Leghorn
to Albertine, baroness Staël von Holstein
, the daughter of Madame de Staël
. He returned to Paris at the end of the year, but took no part in politics until the elections of September 1816
broke the power of the ultraroyalists and substituted for the Chambre introuvable
a moderate assembly composed of liberal Doctrinaires
. Broglie's political attitude during the years that followed is best summed up in his own words:
's reign, Broglie identified himself with the liberal party — the Doctrinaires
, among whom Royer-Collard
and Guizot
were the most prominent. The July Revolution
of 1830 placed him in a difficult position; he knew nothing of the intrigues which placed Louis Philippe
on the throne; the revolution accomplished, however, he was ready to uphold the fait accompli with characteristic loyalty, and on 9 August 1830 took office in the new government as President of the Council and Minister of Public Worship and Education. As he had foreseen, the ministry was short-lived, and on 2 November he was once more out of office.
During the critical time that followed, he consistently supported the principles which triumphed with the fall of Laffitte
, representant of the center-left Parti du mouvement, and the accession to power of Casimir Perier
, leader of the center-right Parti de la résistance, in March 1831. After the death of the latter and the insurrection of June 1832, Broglie took office once more as Minister for Foreign Affairs (11 October).
His tenure of the foreign office was coincident with a very critical period in international relations. But for the sympathy of Britain under Palmerston, the July Monarchy
would have been completely isolated in Europe, and this sympathy the aggressive policy of France in Belgium
and on the Mediterranean coast of Africa
had been in danger of alienating. The Belgian crisis
had been settled, so far as the two powers were concerned, before Broglie took office, but the concerted military and naval action for the coercion of the Dutch
, which led to the French occupation of Antwerp, was carried out under his auspices. The good understanding of which this was the symbol characterized also the relations of Broglie and Palmerston during the crisis of the first war of Muhammad Ali
with the Porte, and in the affairs of the Spanish peninsula their common sympathy with constitutional liberty led to an agreement for common action, which took shape in the Quadruple Alliance
between Britain, France, Spain
, and Portugal
, signed at London
on 22 April 1834. Broglie had retired from office in the March preceding, and did not return to power until March of the following year, when he became head of the cabinet.
One of Broglie's first act on his return was to have the National Assembly ratify the 4 July 1831 treaty with the United States, which it had rejected during his first term. His cabinet also voted the 1835 laws restricting freedom of press, following Giuseppe Fieschi's attempted assassination against Louis-Philippe in July 1835.
In 1836, the government having been defeated on a proposal to reduce the five percents tax, he once more resigned.
From 1836 to 1848 de Broglie held almost completely aloof from politics, to which his scholarly temperament little inclined him, a disinclination strengthened by the death of his wife on 22 September 1838. His friendship for Guizot, however, induced him to accept a temporary mission in 1845, and in 1847 to go as French ambassador to London
.
and in the Convention
of 1848, and, as a member of the section known as the "Burgrave
s", fought against both socialism
and what he foresaw as a coming autocratic
reaction. He shared with his colleagues the indignity of the 2 December 1851 coup, and remained for the remainder of his life one of the bitterest enemies of the Second Empire
, though he was heard to remark, with that caustic wit for which he was famous, that the empire was the government which the poorer classes in France desired and the rich deserved.
The last twenty years of his life were devoted chiefly to philosophical and literary pursuits. Having been brought up by his stepfather in the sceptical opinions of the time, he gradually arrived at a sincere belief in the Christian
religion. "I shall die," he said, "a penitent Christian and an impenitent Liberal."http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Broglie_%28Revolutionary%29
His literary works, though few of them have been published, were rewarded in 1856 by a seat in the Académie française
, replacing Louis de Beaupoil de Saint-Aulaire
, and he was also a member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques. In the labors of those learned bodies he took an active and assiduous part.
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
. He was twice President of the Council during the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
, from August 1830 to November 1830 and from March 1835 to February 1836. Victor de Broglie was close to the liberal Doctrinaires
Doctrinaires
Doctrinaires was the name given during the Bourbon Restoration to the little group of French Royalists who hoped to reconcile the Monarchy with the Revolution, and power with liberty...
who opposed the ultra-royalist
Ultra-royalist
Ultra-Royalists or simply Ultras were a reactionary faction which sat in the French parliament from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration...
s and were absorbed, under Louis-Philippe's rule, by the Orléanists.
Early life
Victor de Broglie was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the youngest child and only son of Charles-Louis-Victor, prince de Broglie
Charles-Louis-Victor, prince de Broglie
Charles-Louis-Victor, prince de Broglie, called Victor de Broglie was a French soldier and politician.-Biography:...
and grandson of Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie
Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie
Victor François de Broglie, 2nd duc de Broglie was a French aristocrat and soldier and a marshal of France...
. While his grandfather emigrated
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
, his parents were imprisoned during the Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
. His father was guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
d in 1794, but his mother the former Countess Sophie de Rosen (Paris 10 Mar 1764 – Paris 31 Oct 1828) managed to escape to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where she remained until the fall of Robespierre. She then returned to Paris with her children – three older daughters and one son – and lived there quietly until 1796, when she married the Marc-René-Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d'Argenson, grandson of Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
's minister of war. On his grandfather's death in 1804, Victor de Broglie became the third duc de Broglie. Under the care of his stepfather, the young duke received a careful and liberal education and made his entrée into the aristocratic
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
and literary society of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
under the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. In 1821, his wife Albertine, the daughter of Erik Magnus Staël von Holstein
Erik Magnus Staël von Holstein
Baron Erik Magnus Staël von Holstein, . Erik Magnus was Chamberlain to Her Majesty Queen Sophia Magdalena. In 1783 he was appointed chargé d'affaires to the Court of France, and in 1785 he was named Ambassador to France...
and Madame de Staël, gave birth to Albert
Albert, 4th duc de Broglie
Jacques-Victor-Albert, 4th duc de Broglie was a French monarchist politician.-Biography:Albert de Broglie was born in Paris, France, the third child and eldest son of Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie, a liberal statesman of the July Monarchy, and Albertine, baroness Staël von Holstein, the fourth child...
, who would become the fourth duke of Broglie.
Career
In 1809, Broglie was appointed a member of the Council of State, over which the emperorNapoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
presided in person. In addition, he was sent by the emperor on diplomatic missions, as an attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
, to various countries. Though he had never been in sympathy with the principles of the Empire, the duc de Broglie was not one of those who rejoiced at its downfall. In common with all men of experience and sense, he realized the danger to France of the rise to power of the forces of violent reaction. With Decazes
Élie, duc Decazes
Élie Decazes, 1st duc Decazes and 1st Duke of Glücksbierg , was a French statesman, known from 1815 to 1820 as 1st comte Decazes in France, 1st Duke of Glücksbierg in Denmark in 1818, and 1st duc Decazes in France in 1820 .-Early life:Élie Decazes was born at Saint-Martin-de-Laye, Gironde, son of...
and Richelieu
Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu
Armand Emmanuel Sophie Septimanie de Vignerot du Plessis, 5th Duke of Richelieu was a prominent French statesman during the Bourbon Restoration...
, he saw that the only hope for a calm future lay in the reconciliation of the Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
with the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. By the influence of his uncle, Amédée de Broglie, his right to a peerage had been recognized, and to his own great surprise he received, in June 1814, a summons from Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
to the Chamber of Peers. There, after the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, he distinguished himself by his courageous defence of Marshal Ney
Michel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
, for whose acquittal he, alone of all the peers, both spoke and voted.
After this defiant act of opposition it was perhaps fortunate that his impending marriage gave him an excuse for leaving the country. On 15 February 1816, he was married at Leghorn
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
to Albertine, baroness Staël von Holstein
Albertine, baroness Staël von Holstein
Hedvig Gustava Albertina, Baroness de Staël-Holstein or simply Albertine , was the daughter of Erik Magnus Staël von Holstein and Madame de Staël, the granddaughter of Jacques Necker and Suzanne Curchod, wife to Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie, and mother to Albert, a French monarchist politician...
, the daughter of Madame de Staël
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein , commonly known as Madame de Staël, was a French-speaking Swiss author living in Paris and abroad. She influenced literary tastes in Europe at the turn of the 19th century.- Childhood :...
. He returned to Paris at the end of the year, but took no part in politics until the elections of September 1816
French legislative election, 1816
The 1816 French general election organized the first legislature of the Second Restoration. The election was held on 25 September and 4 October.Only citizens paying taxes were eligible to vote....
broke the power of the ultraroyalists and substituted for the Chambre introuvable
Chambre introuvable
La Chambre introuvable was the first Chamber of Deputies elected after the Second Bourbon Restoration in 1815. It was dominated by Ultra-royalists who completely refused to accept the results of the French Revolution...
a moderate assembly composed of liberal Doctrinaires
Doctrinaires
Doctrinaires was the name given during the Bourbon Restoration to the little group of French Royalists who hoped to reconcile the Monarchy with the Revolution, and power with liberty...
. Broglie's political attitude during the years that followed is best summed up in his own words:
The July Monarchy
During the last critical years of Charles XCharles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
's reign, Broglie identified himself with the liberal party — the Doctrinaires
Doctrinaires
Doctrinaires was the name given during the Bourbon Restoration to the little group of French Royalists who hoped to reconcile the Monarchy with the Revolution, and power with liberty...
, among whom Royer-Collard
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard , was a French statesman and philosopher, leader of the Doctrinaires group during the Bourbon Restoration .-Biography:...
and Guizot
François Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848, a conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, and worked to sustain a constitutional...
were the most prominent. The July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
of 1830 placed him in a difficult position; he knew nothing of the intrigues which placed Louis Philippe
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
on the throne; the revolution accomplished, however, he was ready to uphold the fait accompli with characteristic loyalty, and on 9 August 1830 took office in the new government as President of the Council and Minister of Public Worship and Education. As he had foreseen, the ministry was short-lived, and on 2 November he was once more out of office.
During the critical time that followed, he consistently supported the principles which triumphed with the fall of Laffitte
Jacques Laffitte
Jacques Laffitte was a French banker and politician.-Biography:Laffitte was born at Bayonne, one of the ten children of a carpenter....
, representant of the center-left Parti du mouvement, and the accession to power of Casimir Perier
Casimir Pierre Perier
Casimir Pierre Perier was a French statesman, President of the Council during the July Monarchy, when he headed the conservative Parti de la résistance .-Life:...
, leader of the center-right Parti de la résistance, in March 1831. After the death of the latter and the insurrection of June 1832, Broglie took office once more as Minister for Foreign Affairs (11 October).
His tenure of the foreign office was coincident with a very critical period in international relations. But for the sympathy of Britain under Palmerston, the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
would have been completely isolated in Europe, and this sympathy the aggressive policy of France in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and on the Mediterranean coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
had been in danger of alienating. The Belgian crisis
Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the Southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium....
had been settled, so far as the two powers were concerned, before Broglie took office, but the concerted military and naval action for the coercion of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, which led to the French occupation of Antwerp, was carried out under his auspices. The good understanding of which this was the symbol characterized also the relations of Broglie and Palmerston during the crisis of the first war of Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
with the Porte, and in the affairs of the Spanish peninsula their common sympathy with constitutional liberty led to an agreement for common action, which took shape in the Quadruple Alliance
Quadruple Alliance
The term "Quadruple Alliance" refers to several historical military alliances; none of which remain in effect.# The Quadruple Alliance of August 1673 was an alliance between the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Spain, Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, in...
between Britain, France, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, signed at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 22 April 1834. Broglie had retired from office in the March preceding, and did not return to power until March of the following year, when he became head of the cabinet.
One of Broglie's first act on his return was to have the National Assembly ratify the 4 July 1831 treaty with the United States, which it had rejected during his first term. His cabinet also voted the 1835 laws restricting freedom of press, following Giuseppe Fieschi's attempted assassination against Louis-Philippe in July 1835.
In 1836, the government having been defeated on a proposal to reduce the five percents tax, he once more resigned.
From 1836 to 1848 de Broglie held almost completely aloof from politics, to which his scholarly temperament little inclined him, a disinclination strengthened by the death of his wife on 22 September 1838. His friendship for Guizot, however, induced him to accept a temporary mission in 1845, and in 1847 to go as French ambassador to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Second Republic and Second Empire
The revolution of 1848 was a great blow to him, for he realized that it meant the final ruin of the constitutional monarchy, in his view the political system best suited to France. He took his seat, however, in the republican National AssemblyFrench National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
and in the Convention
French Second Republic
The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité...
of 1848, and, as a member of the section known as the "Burgrave
Burgrave
A burgrave is literally the count of a castle or fortified town. The English form is derived through the French from the German Burggraf and Dutch burg- or burch-graeve .* The title is originally equivalent to that of castellan or châtelain, meaning keeper of a castle and/or fortified town...
s", fought against both socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and what he foresaw as a coming autocratic
Autocracy
An autocracy is a form of government in which one person is the supreme power within the state. It is derived from the Greek : and , and may be translated as "one who rules by himself". It is distinct from oligarchy and democracy...
reaction. He shared with his colleagues the indignity of the 2 December 1851 coup, and remained for the remainder of his life one of the bitterest enemies of the Second Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
, though he was heard to remark, with that caustic wit for which he was famous, that the empire was the government which the poorer classes in France desired and the rich deserved.
The last twenty years of his life were devoted chiefly to philosophical and literary pursuits. Having been brought up by his stepfather in the sceptical opinions of the time, he gradually arrived at a sincere belief in the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
religion. "I shall die," he said, "a penitent Christian and an impenitent Liberal."http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Broglie_%28Revolutionary%29
His literary works, though few of them have been published, were rewarded in 1856 by a seat in the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, replacing Louis de Beaupoil de Saint-Aulaire
Louis de Beaupoil de Saint-Aulaire
Louis-Clair de Beaupoil comte de Saint-Aulaire was a French politician.-Life:After attending school at the École des ponts et chaussées and polytechnique , he served as chamberlain to Napoleon I of France, then prefect of the Meuse in 1813 then of Haute-Garonne in 1814...
, and he was also a member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques. In the labors of those learned bodies he took an active and assiduous part.