Louis-Mathieu Molé (24 January 1781 – 23 November 1855), also 1st Count Molé from 1809 to 1815, was a French statesman, close friend and associate of
Louis Philippe I
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...
, King of the French during 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 F ...
(1830–1848).
Biography
Molé was born in Paris. His father, a president of the parlement of Paris, who came of the family of the famous president noted below, was
guillotine
A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...
d during the Terror. Count Molé's early days were spent in Switzerland and in England with his mother, a relative of Lamoignon-Malesherbes.
On his return to France, he studied at the Ecole Centrale des Travaux Publics, and his social education was accomplished in the salon of Pauline de Beaumont, the friend of Châteaubriand and Joubert. A volume of ''Essais de morale et de politique'' introduced him to the notice of
Napoleon
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 who ...
, who attached him to the staff of the
council of state
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
. He became master of requests in 1806, and next year prefect of the Côte-d'Or, Councillor of State and Director-General of Bridges and Roads in 1809, and
Count of the Empire
As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution.
Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that t ...
in the autumn of the same year.
He served as Napoleon's advisor on Jewish affairs and was heavily involved with Napoleon's gathering of a Jewish
Grand Sanhedrin
The Grand Sanhedrin was a Jewish high court convened in Europe by Napoleon to give legal sanction to the principles expressed by an assembly of Jewish notables in answer to the twelve questions submitted to it by the government.Jew. Encyc. v. 468 ...
in 1807. Mole initially did not support
Jewish emancipation
Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, e.g. Jewish quotas, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It in ...
, though he seems to have moderated his position over the course of his involvement with the Sanhedrin and particularly Abraham Furtado.
In November 1813, he became
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
. Although he resumed his functions as Director-General during the Hundred Days, he excused himself from taking his seat in the
Council of State
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
and was apparently not seriously compromised, for
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 ...
confirmed his appointment as Director-General and made him a peer of France. Molé supported the policy of the duc de Richelieu, who in 1817 entrusted to him the direction of the Ministry of Marine, which he held until December 1818.
From that time, he belonged to the moderate opposition, and he accepted the result of the revolution of 1830 without enthusiasm. He was
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
in the first cabinet of
Louis Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...
's reign, and was confronted with the task of reconciling the European powers to the change of government. The real direction of foreign affairs, however, lay less in his hands than in those of Talleyrand, who had gone to London as the ambassador of the new king.
After a few months in office, Molé retired, and it was not until 1836 that the fall of Thiers led to his becoming
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
of a new government, in which he held the portfolio of foreign affairs. One of his first actions was the release of the ex-ministers of
Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...
, and he had to deal with the disputes with Switzerland and with the Strasburg coup of
Louis-Napoléon
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
. He withdrew the French garrison from
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
, but pursued an active policy in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
Personal and political differences rapidly arose between Molé and his chief colleague, Guizot, and led to an open rupture in March 1837 in face of the general opposition to a grant to the duc de Nemours. After some attempts to secure a new combination, Molé reconstructed his ministry in April, Guizot being excluded. The general election in the autumn gave him no fresh support in the Chamber of Deputies, while he had now to face a formidable coalition between Guizot, the Left Centre under Thiers, and politicians of the Dynastic Left and the Republican Left. Molé, supported by Louis Philippe, held his ground against the general hostility until the beginning of 1839, when, after acrid discussions on the address, the chamber was dissolved. The new house showed little change in the strength of parties, but Molé resigned on 31 March 1839.
A year later he was elected to the Académie française, and though he continued to speak frequently, he took no important share in party politics. Louis Philippe sought his help in his vain efforts to form a ministry in February 1848. After 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 ...