Ernest Louis Octave Courtot de Cissey (; 1810–1882) was a French general and Prime Minister. de Cissey was born in Paris, educated at the

Prytanée National Militaire The Prytanée national militaire is a French military school managed by the French military, offering regular secondary education as well as special preparatory classes, equivalent in level to the first years of university, for students who wish ...

and, after passing through St Cyr, entered the army in 1832, becoming captain in 1839. He saw active service in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, and became ''chef d'escadron'' in 1849 and lieutenant-colonel in 1850. He took part as a colonel in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

, and after the

battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain and Second French Empire, France against the Imperial Russian Empire, Russian Army. Th ...

received the rank of general of brigade. In 1863 he was promoted general of division. When the Franco-German War broke out in 1870, de Cissey was given a divisional command in the Army of the Rhine, and he was included in the surrender of

Bazaine Bazaine is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolphe Bazaine-Vasseur (1809–1893), French railway engineer * François Achille Bazaine (1811–1888), French military officer * George Albert Bazaine-Hayter (1843–1914), Frenc ...

's army at

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

. He was released from captivity only at the end of the war, and on his return was at once appointed by the

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, u ...

government to a command in the army engaged in the suppression of the Commune. From July 1871 de Cissey sat as a deputy, and he had already become minister of war. He occupied this post several times during the critical period of the reorganization of the French army, and served briefly as

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister ...

from 1874 to 1875. In 1875, he was elected

senator for life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

. In 1880, whilst holding the command of the XI corps at Nantes, he was accused of having relations with a certain Baroness Lucie von Kaulla (1840–1891?), a descendant of Karoline Kaulla, who was said to be a spy in the pay of Germany, and he was in consequence relieved from duty. An inquiry subsequently held resulted in de Cissey's favour (1881).

Cissey's Ministry, 22 May 187410 March 1875

*Ernest Courtot de Cissey – President of the Council and

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 ...

* Louis Decazes –

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 cou ...

Oscar Bardi de Fourtou Marie François Oscar Bardi de Fourtou (3 January 1836 – 6 December 1897) was a French politician. Born into a bourgeois family, he served as Minister of Transport from 7 December 1872 to 18 May 1873. He also served as Minister of Interior and ...

–

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 ...

Pierre Magne Pierre Magne (3 December 1806 – 17 February 1879) was a lawyer and French politician. He was a member of parliament from 1843 to 1848, a senator in the Second French Empire, and a representative and then senator in the French Third Republic. He ...

–

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Adrien Tailhand Adrien is a given name and surname, and the French spelling for the name Adrian. It is also the masculine form of the feminine name Adrienne. It may refer to: People Given name * Adrien Auzout (1622–1691), French astronomer * Adrien Baill ...

–

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 v ...

Louis Raymond de Montaignac de Chauvance Louis Raymond marquis de Montaignac de Chauvance (11 March 1811, Paris – 9 June 1891, Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimate ...

– Minister of Marine and Colonies *

Arthur de Cumont Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more ...

– Minister of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Worship *

Eugène Caillaux Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".Louis Grivart Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

– Minister of Agriculture and Commerce

Changes

*20 July 1874 – The Baron de Chabaud-Latour succeeds Fourtou as Minister of the Interior.

Pierre Mathieu-Bodet Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

succeeds Magne as Minister of Finance.

References

External links

Les députés français depuis 1789: Ernest de Cissey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cissey, Ernest Courtot de 1810 births 1882 deaths Politicians from Paris French nobility Orléanists Prime Ministers of France French Ministers of War Members of the National Assembly (1871) French life senators French generals French military personnel of the Crimean War French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery