Pierre Roger Ducos (25 July 174716 March 1816), better known as Roger Ducos, was a French political figure during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

and

First Empire First Empire may refer to: *First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 *First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes use ...

, a member of the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nation ...

, and of the

Directory Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network' ...

In the Revolution

Born in

Montfort-en-Chalosse Montfort-en-Chalosse (, literally ''Montfort in Chalosse''; oc-gsc, Monhòrt de Shalòssa) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population Politics Between 2001 and 2014, Françoise Dartigue-Pe ...

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

(now in

Landes ''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath. ''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word ''l ...

department), he was elected deputy to the Convention by the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of the Landes. He sat in ''

The Plain The Plain (french: La Plaine), better known as The Marsh (french: Le Marais), was the majority of independent deputies in the French National Convention during the French Revolution. They sat between the Girondists on their right and Montagnar ...

'' (the party which had no clear attitude, and served to sway the vote). He voted for the death of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

, without

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

or delay, but was not prominent in the Convention afterwards. Ducos was a member of the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the ...

, over which he presided on the 18th of Fructidor Coup (1797). At the end of his term, he became a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

, but after

Barthélemy Catherine Joubert Barthélemy Catherine Joubert (, 14 April 1769 – 15 August 1799) was a French general who served during the French Revolutionary Wars. Napoleon Bonaparte recognized his talents and gave him increased responsibilities. Joubert was killed while ...

's ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'' (the '' 30 Prairial of the year VIII'', or 18 June 1799), he was named a member of the executive Directory, thanks to the influence of

Paul Barras Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras (, 30 June 1755 – 29 January 1829), commonly known as Paul Barras, was a French politician of the French Revolution, and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799. Early ...

, who counted on Ducos as his partisan.

Consulate, Empire, and exile

On 9 November 1799, Ducos accepted the ''coup d'état'' of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

(the ''

18 Brumaire The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless '' coup d'état'' ove ...

''), and was one of the three Provisional Consuls (with Napoleon and Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès), becoming vice-president of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

with the arrival of a stable Consulate formula. He was many times honored under the Empire, but in 1814 he abandoned Napoleon, and voted for his deposition. He sought to gain the favor of the government of the Restoration, but in 1816 was exiled on the basis of the law regarding the ''

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

s''. He died in March 1816 near

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

, from a carriage accident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducos, Roger 1747 births 1816 deaths 18th-century heads of state of France Deputies to the French National Convention Directeurs of the First French Republic Exiled French politicians First French Empire French Consulate 18th-century French lawyers Members of the Council of Five Hundred People from Landes (department) Regicides of Louis XVI Road incident deaths in Germany Politicians from Nouvelle-Aquitaine