Élie, 1st Duke of Decazes and Glücksbierg (born Élie Louis Decazes; 28 September 178024 October 1860) was a French

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a ...

, leader of the liberal ''

Doctrinaires During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Hea ...

'' party during the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

Early life and family

Élie Decazes was born at Saint-Martin-de-Laye,

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,6 ...

, son of Michel Decazes (1747–1832) by his wife, whom he married in 1779, Cathérine Trigant de Beaumont. He studied law, became a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...

Tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...

in 1806, was appointed to the

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Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French ...

in 1807, and later

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to the

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at Paris in 1811. On 1 August 1805, in Paris, Decazes married Elisabeth-Fortunée, second daughter of Count Honoré Muraire. She died in Paris on 24 January 1806 without issue. Decazes married secondly on 11 August 1818 Wilhelmine-Egidia-Octavie de Beaupoil, comtesse de St-Aulaire-Glücksbierg, who died at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

on 8 August 1873. By her, he had ''Louis''-Charles-Élie-Amanien (1819–86), the 2nd Duke and later

French Foreign Minister The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs () is the ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to the National Assembly. The term Qua ...

, Frédéric-Xavier-Stanislas Decazes (1823Paris, 26 February 1887), an

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

who died unmarried without issue, and Henriette-Guillermine-Eugénie Decazes de Glücksbierg (23 November 1824

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Eurome ...

, November, 1899), who married on 19 April 1845 a

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, Léopold-Jacques-Alphonse, Baron Lefebvre. His younger brother Joseph Decazes (1783–1868), created 1st

vicomte A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

Decazes, married in 1816 Diane de Bancalis de Maurel d'Aragon, leaving issue: Sophie Decazes (1817–1904), married in 1835 to François de Carbonnel de Canisy; and Élie Decazes (1822–1851), married in 1850 to Elisabeth de Mauvise de Villars, parents of Raymond Decazes (1851–1913), married in 1887 to Marie-Louise Koechlin (having seven children). A great-granddaughter, Marguerite-Séverine-Philippine Decazes (widow of Prince Jean-Pierre de Broglie), married as her second husband

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

The Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Reginald Fellowes JP (1884-1953), son of Lord de Ramsey. The 6th and present

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

, Louis-Frédéric Decazes, born in 1946, is a wine producer and Chevalier du Tastevin.

Royalist

Immediately after the fall of the Empire, Decazes declared himself a Royalist, and remained faithful to the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

throughout the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoratio ...

. He met King

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

during that period, through Baron Louis, and Louis XVIII rewarded his loyalty by appointing him as Prefect of Police for

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

on 9 July 1815. His marked success in that difficult position earned him appointment as Minister of Police, succeeding Fouché, on 24 September. Meanwhile, he had been elected

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

for the Seine (August 1815), and both as Deputy and as a Minister he was a key player among moderate Royalists. His plan was "to royalize France and to nationalize the monarchy." The Moderates were a minority in the

Chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations *Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics *Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...

of 1815, so Decazes persuaded Louis XVIII to dissolve Parliament, and accordingly the elections of October 1816 returned them with a majority. During the next four years, Decazes was called upon to play a leading role in the

French government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

. Decazes was Minister of the Interior from 18 December 1818 to 20 February 1820. The government decided to revive the

Exposition des produits de l'industrie française The Exposition des produits de l'industrie française (Exhibition of Products of French Industry) was a public event organized in Paris, France, from 1798 to 1849. The purpose was "to offer a panorama of the productions of the various branches of ...

of French industry. A royal ordinance of 13 January 1819 decreed a series of expositions at intervals of no more than four years, with the first to be held in 1819 and the second in 1821. Decazes sent directives to all the prefects in France giving the general conditions for products that would be acceptable for the exposition.

Minister of Police

As Minister of Police, he was required to suppress the insurrections provoked by the

Ultra-royalist The Ultra-royalists (french: ultraroyalistes, collectively Ultras) were a French political faction from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration. An Ultra was usually a member of the nobility of high society who strongly supported Roman Cathol ...

s (the White Terror); after the resignation of the 5th Duc de Richelieu, he took over the day-to-day running of the ministry, although General Dessolles remained as nominal head. Decazes simultaneously held the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

portfolio. The Cabinet, in which Baron Louis was Finance Minister, and Marshal de Gouvion Saint-Cyr remained Minister of War, was entirely Liberal in composition; and its first move was to abolish the Ministry of Police, as Decazes felt it incompatible with a régime espousing

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

. His reforms met with the strong hostility of the Chamber of Peers, where the ultra-Royalists held a majority, and to overcome their numerical advantage, he persuaded the King to create sixty new Liberal peers. Decazes then pushed through legislation about the press, repealing censorship laws. By reorganizing the nation's finances, the protection of industry and the carrying out of great public works, France regained economic prosperity, and the government increased in popularity. But the powers of the Grand Alliance had been watching the growth of Liberalism in France with increasing anxiety. In particular, Metternich ascribed this mainly to the "weakness" of the Government, and the political election results of 1819 further illustrated this trend, notably by the election of the famous

Abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is the title for low ...

Henri Grégoire. A debate started over whether the time had not come to put in force the terms of the secret Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle. It was this threat of foreign intervention, rather than the clamour of the "

Ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...

," which forced Louis XVIII to urge a change in electoral law to prevent such a "scandal" as Grégoire's election in the future.

Prime Minister

General Dessolles and Baron Louis, refusing to embark on this policy, then resigned; thus Decazes became the new head of government, as president of the council (November 1819). The exclusion of Grégoire from the chamber and the changes in the franchise embittered the radicals also without reconciling the "Ultras." The news of the revolution in Spain in January 1820 compounded matters, as the royal

favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated s ...

was accused by his opponents to have begun another revolution; and when, on 13 February,

Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry (24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820) was the third child and younger son of Charles X, King of France, (whom he predeceased) by his wife Maria Theresa of Savoy. In June 1832, two years after the overthro ...

, the only member of the royal family expected to ensure royal succession, was assassinated; he was accused of being an accomplice in the crime. Decazes, foreseeing the storm, at once offered his resignation to the

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 at first refused. "They will attack", he proclaimed, "not your system, my dear son, but mine"; but in the end, he was forced to yield to the importunity of his family (17 February). Decazes, raised to the rank of duke, passed into honourable exile, being posted as

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

to Britain. This ended Decazes' ministerial career. In December 1821, he returned to sit in the House of Peers, where he continued to voice his Liberal opinions. After 1830, he adhered to the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...

, but after 1848, he remained firmly in retirement. In 1826, Decazes formed an association to represent the coal and iron industries in

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitan ...

. The name of Decazeville was given to the industry's regional centre in 1829.

Honours

Duke of Decazes ( French title), 1820 * T02 Danish Duke

Duke of Glücksbierg ( Danish title), 1818 * Chevalier, Ordre du Saint-Esprit * Grand-croix,

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Knight,

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

References