Jean Antoine Ernest Constans (3 May 1833 – 7 April 1913) was a French politician and colonial administrator.

Biography

Born in

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

, he began his career as professor of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

. In 1876 he was elected deputy for

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

to the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

's Chamber, and sat in the Left Centre as one of the 363 of 16 May 1877. Re-elected in October 1877, he joined

Louis de Freycinet Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet (7 August 1779 – 18 August 1841) was a French Navy officer. He circumnavigated the Earth, and in 1811 published the first map to show a full outline of the coastline of Australia. Biography He was born at M ...

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in May 1880, holding this portfolio until November 1881. In 1887–1888, he was the first Governor-General of French Indochina. On 22 February 1889 he assumed the same office in Pierre Tirard's cabinet. He became prominent as a stalwart opponent of the Boulangist party, constituting 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 ...

as a high court of justice, and taking police measures against the ''

Ligue des patriotes The League of Patriots () was a French far-right league, founded in 1882 by the nationalist poet Paul Déroulède, historian Henri Martin and politician Félix Faure. The Ligue began as a non-partisan nationalist league, supported among other ...

''. He resigned on 1 March 1890 but his resignation involved the fall of the cabinet, and he resumed his portfolio in the Freycinet cabinet the same month. On 29 December 1889 he was elected senator by the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of the

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...

. He was violently attacked by the press and the Boulangist deputies but did not resign until the whole cabinet withdrew, on 26 February 1892. In December 1898 he was appointed

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 so ...

to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and remained in office until 1909. His attempt to join the Senate in 1912 was unsuccessful.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Constans, Jean Antoine Ernest 1833 births 1913 deaths People from Béziers Politicians from Occitania (administrative region) French republicans French interior ministers Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French senators of the Third Republic Senators of Haute-Garonne Governors-general of French Indochina Ambassadors of France to the Ottoman Empire 19th-century French diplomats 20th-century French diplomats Governors of Cochinchina