Aimé-Marie-Gaspard, comte de Clermont-Tonnerre (27 November 1779 – 8 January 1865) was a French general and statesman. Son of Gaspard-Paulin, vicomte de Clermont-Tonnerre and Anne-Marie- Louise Bernard de Boulainvilliers, and grandson of the Marquis de Boulainvilliers, Clermont-Tonnerre lived 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 ...

with his grandfather.

Life

He entered the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, before entering the army. He participated in the campaigns in

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and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and was made adjudant of the

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in 1808, in whose service he stayed afterwards. He married Charlotte de Cauvoisin and in 1814 returned to the French army as a colonel, was Maréchal de Camp and after the second return of the king, was made Peer of France and commander of the cavalry of the guard. Clermont-Tonnerre sided with the moderate conservative party and was named Minister of the Navy and the Colonies in 1820 by Villèle. In 1823, he became

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and assiduously reorganized the army. Clermont-Tonnerre sent Hyacinthe de Bougainville around the world from 1824 to 1826 onboard ''Thétis'' and ''Espérance''.''The French Explorers and the Aboriginal Australians 1772–1839'' By Colin L. Dyer p.1

/ref> In 1827, he organized the French rule in Algeria, Algerian expedition, which was executed in 1830. After the revolution, he refused to swear allegiance to the new government 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 Wa ...

and retired into private life. In 1852, he lobbied for the first rail line between Paris and Cherbourg-en-Cotentin to pass through the department of Eure. He died on his estate in Glissolles. The Hawaiian plant genus Clermontia was named in his honor by

Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (September 4, 1789 – January 16, 1854) was a French botanist. Biography Gaudichaud was born in Angoulême, to J-J. Gaudichaud and Rose (Mallat) Gaudichaud. He studied pharmacology informally at Cognac and Angoulême, ...

References

* Camille Rousset, ''Le marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre'' (Par. 1885) {{DEFAULTSORT:Clermont-Tonnerre, Aime, Duc De 1779 births 1865 deaths Politicians from Paris Politicians of the Bourbon Restoration Aime de French generals Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Ministers of Marine and the Colonies Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars French Ministers of War