The Superintendent of Finances () was the name of the minister in charge of finances in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

from 1561 to 1661. The position was abolished in 1661 with the downfall of

Nicolas Fouquet Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (; 27 January 1615 – 23 March 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV. He had a glittering career, and acquired enormous weal ...

, and a new position was created, the

Controller-General of Finances The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances () was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances (''Surintendant des finances''), which was ab ...

History

Before 1561

Prior to the creation of the position "Surintendant des finances", France's royal financial administration had been run—from the time of Charles VII—by two financial boards which worked in a collegial manner: the four ''Généraux des finances'' oversaw the collection of taxes (

taille The ''taille'' () was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in ''Ancien Régime'' France. The tax was imposed on each household and was based on how much land it held, and was paid directly to the state. History Originally ...

, etc.) and the four ''Trésoriers de France'' (Treasurers) oversaw revenues from royal lands (the "domaine"). Together they were often referred to as "Messieurs des finances". The four members of each board were divided by geographical circumscriptions ("recettes générales" or "

généralité ''Recettes générales'', commonly known as ''généralités'' (), were the administrative divisions of France under the Ancien Régime and are often considered to prefigure the current '' préfectures''. At the time of the French Revolution, ther ...

s"; the areas were named Languedoïl, Languedoc, Normandy, and Outre-Seine and Yonne), with the directors of the "Languedoïl" region typically having an honorific preeminence. The double-board was assisted in its work by four "contrôleurs généraux". Before 1523–24, the King's Council had very little direct say on the day-to-day running of the double-boards. In 1523, Francis I, in an effort to exert a more direct control over royal finances during his European wars and to circumvent the double-board (accused of poor oversight)—created a separate Royal Treasury (''Trésor de l'Épargne'') directly under the control of the King's Council (analogous institutions had existed before), but the initial results were disappointing. From this moment through the next 40 years, numerous administrative reforms were attempted: increase in the number of "généralités"; unification of the tasks of the double-board into new positions (such as two "contrôleurs généraux" subservient to the Royal Treasurer); changes in the royal financial courts ("

Cour des Comptes The ''Cour des Comptes'' (, "Court of Accounts") is France's supreme audit institution, under French law an administrative court. As such, it is independent from the legislative and executive branches of the French Government. However, the 1946 ...

", " Cour des Aides"); creation of numerous provincial financial officers and boards; creation of the positions of "intendents" of finance (see below). With the increased role of the King's Council in financial matters, certain high-ranked nobles (like Anne de Montmorency or Charles of Lorraine, Cardinal of Guise) exerted a stronger advisory role over finances. Although there was no official "Minister of Finances" in this period, certain individuals exerted an equivalent administrative role. ;Under Francis I: *1518–1524: Jacques de Beaune, baron de Semblançay ;Under Henry II: *1552: André Guillart *1556: Jean de Saint Marcel d'Avançon

Surintendant des finances

The position "Surintendant des finances" was officially created in 1561 during the reign of Charles IX, although some royal financial advisors had performed analogous duties previously. The position grew out of the positions of

Intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

s of Finances, officially created in 1552 by

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

to oversee royal finances during the king's travels in Germany (he sought an alliance with Protestant Princes). At the time, three Intendants of Finances were named, and one of them would also participate in the Privy Counsel, thus the designation "superintendent". In 1561, the position fell to two individuals: Artus de Cossé-Brissac and the comte de Chaulnes. An administrative ruling on 23 October 1563 mandated once-a-week reunions of the

Conseil du Roi The (; 'King's Council'), also known as the Royal Council, is a general term for the administrative and governmental apparatus around the King of France during the Ancien Régime designed to prepare his decisions and to advise him. It should no ...

(King's Counsel) to deal with financial questions of finances; to this meeting would come the superintendent of finances and other officers of country's financial administration, such as the Treasurer (trésorier de l'Épargne). In 1567, Cossé was promoted to

maréchal de France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) and for a period ...

; he resigned his post in favor of René de Birague (as did too, apparently, the comte de Chaulnes); René de Birague was thus the sole "superintendent". In 1570, the position was assumed by the ''Conseil royal des finances''. Henry III suppressed the ''Conseil royal des finances'' in 1574 and named a superintendent. Henry IV replaced the superintendent with a counsel. In this way, the position appeared intermittently, its fate tied to that of the ''Conseil des finances''. On 5 September 1661,

was arrested for financial misdealings and brought to trial. On the 12th, the position of Supertintendant was replaced by a ''Conseil royal des finances'', attended by an

intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

, named the

Contrôleur général des finances The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances () was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances (''Surintendant des finances''), which was a ...

; this position first fell to Jean-Baptiste Colbert.

List of Surintendants des finances

*1561–1567: Artus de Cossé-Brissac; Louis d' Ongnies, comte de Chaulnes *1568–1571: René de Birague *1574–1588: Pompone de Bellièvre *1588–1594: François d'O *1594–1597: A Council of 9 members: Pompone de Bellièvre, Henri I de Montmorency, Albert de Gondi, Gaspard de Schomberg, Jacques de la Grange-le-Roy, Pierre Forges de Fresnes, Philippe Hurault de Cheverny and Nicolas de Harlay, sieur de Sancy *1597–1611: Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully *1611–1616: A Council of 3 members: Pierre Jeannin, Guillaume de L'Aubespin and Jacques-Auguste de Thou *1616–1617: Claude Barbin *1617–1619: Pierre Jeannin *1619–1623: Henri de Schomberg *1623–1624: Charles de La Vieuville *1624–1626: A Council of 2 members: Jean de Bochart,

Michel de Marillac Michel de Marillac (October 1563 in Paris – 7 August 1632 in Château de Châteaudun) was a French jurist and counsellor at the court of Louis XIII of France, one of the leading '' dévots''. His uncle was Charles de Marillac, Archbishop ...

*1626–1632:

Antoine Coiffier de Ruzé, marquis d'Effiat Antoine Coiffier (or Coëffier) de Ruzé d'Effiat, marquis d'Effiat, (1581- 7 July 1632) was a French noble and Superintendent of Finances to Louis XIII during the years 1626 to 1632. He was also a Marshal of France. Biography As the nephew of M ...

*1632–1640: A Council of 2 members: Claude de Bullion, Claude Bouthilier *1640–1643: Claude Bouthilier *1643–1647: A Council of 3 members: Nicolas de Bailleuil; Claude de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux; Michel Particelli d'Hémery *1647–1648: Council of above without de Bailleuil *1648–1649: Charles de La Porte *1649–1650: Same council as earlier *1650–1651: René de Longueil *1651–1653: Charles de La Vieuville *1653–1659: A Council of 2 members:

, Abel Servien *1659–1661: Nicolas Fouquet

References

* Bernard Barbiche, ''Les Institutions de la monarchie française à l'époque moderne'', Paris: PUF, collection "Premier Cycle", 1999. * Daniel Dessert, ''Argent, pouvoir et société au grand siècle'', Paris: Fayard, 1984. * Arlette Jouanna, Philippe Hamon, Dominique Biloghi, Guy Le Thiec, "Finances", ''La France de la Renaissance: Histoire et Dictionnaire,'' Paris: Laffont, 2001. {{Finance Ministers of France Offices in the Ancien Régime Economic history of the Ancien Régime Ministry of Finance (France)

History

Before 1561

Surintendant des finances

List of Surintendants des finances

See also

References