Jacques Defermon des Chapelieres (15 November 1752 – 20 July 1831) was a French statesman during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

and a supporter of

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

and the French Empire. In some sources his baptismal names are given as Jacques, Joseph (most probably in error); his surname also spelled as (de) Fermon or (de) Fermond. He can also be referred to as comte Defermon,

comte de l'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 th ...

(count Defermon, count of the Empire) from 23 March 1808.

Biography

Born in Basse-Chapelière, near Maumusson, in what would become the Department of

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...

, he was educated at the Collège de Châtillon, in

Châteaubriant Châteaubriant (; br, Kastell-Briant; Gallo: ''Châtiaoberiant'') is a town in western France, about southwest of Paris, and one of the three sous-préfectures of the Loire-Atlantique department. Châteaubriant is also situated in the historica ...

, before studying law at

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

. He became a lawyer in the

Parlement A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern Fre ...

of Rennes in 1782.''Jacques Defermon''A guide to the study of historical offices
October 2013. Accessed 11 February 2014.

French Revolution

Defermon was elected (18 April 1789) as a representative of the

Third Estate The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...

to the

Estates General (France) In France under the Ancien Régime, the Estates General (french: États généraux ) or States-General was a legislative and consultative assembly of the different classes (or estates) of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of ...

and proceeded to become a deputy of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

from 1789 to 1791. He served as President of the National Assembly 19–30 July 1791, a vital period of time following the

Flight to Varennes The royal Flight to Varennes (french: Fuite à Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessfull ...

. During the tenure of the Legislative Assembly he served as president of the Criminal Tribunal of Rennes (1791–1792). Elected to the Convention (serving 1792–1793, then 1794–1795 following a lengthy suspension) as a deputy for the département of

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.

. He was President of the Convention 13–27 December 1792, during much of the debates surrounding the question of the

Trial of Louis XVI The trial of Louis XVI—officially called "Citizen Louis Capet" since being dethroned—before the National Convention in December 1792 was a key event of the French Revolution. He was convicted of high treason and other crimes, resulting in ...

. He would be exiled as a regicide following the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

. Defermon supported the

Girondists The Girondins ( , ), or Girondists, were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnard ...

and signed a petition (2 June 1793) against their exclusion from the convention by the

Montagnards Montagnard (''of the mountain'' or ''mountain dweller'') may refer to: * Montagnard (French Revolution), members of The Mountain (''La Montagne''), a political group during the French Revolution (1790s) ** Montagnard (1848 revolution), members of t ...

. For acting against the ascendent faction he was declared "traître à la patrie" (Traitor to the Fatherland), and eventually was forced to go into hiding to escape the arrest decreed by the convention (3 October 1793).

Thermidor and The Directory

Defermon returned to exercising his duties as deputy in December 1794 as supporters of the

are rehabilitated by an increasingly conservative Convention. He was elected a member of the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety (french: link=no, Comité de salut public) was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. S ...

and served from 4 May 1795 to 1 September 1795). He was elected (14 October 1795) to the

Corps législatif The was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body. History The Constitution of the Year I foresaw the need for a ''corps législatif''. ...

by the Département of

and subsequently selected to sit in the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the e ...

(1795–1797), serving as president from 21 May 1796 to 19 June 1796). He retired from the legislature upon his appointment as a commissioner of the National Treasury (1797–1799).

Consulate, Empire, and Restoration

Defermon supported the

Coup of 18 Brumaire The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless ''coup d'état'' overt ...

(10 November 1799) of

and was appointed a member of the

Tribunat The was one of the four assemblies set up in France by the Constitution of Year VIII (the other three were the Council of State, the and the ). It was set up officially on 1 January 1800 at the same time as the . Its first president was the his ...

(25 December 1799) and counselor of state. He chaired the department of finance (1799–1814), was appointed intendant général (1805), and named minister of state (1808). Napoleon awarded him the title of comte Defermon, comte de l'Empire (23 March 1808). During the Cent Jours (Hundred Days), was elected (12 May 1815) a deputy of the Chamber of Representatives from

. Banished as a regicide (1816), he lived in Brussels (1816–1822) before returning to France. He died in Paris in 1831 at age 78.

Sources

External links

Biography of Defermon, Jacques
{{DEFAULTSORT:Defermon des Chapelieres, Jacques 1752 births 1831 deaths People from Loire-Atlantique Counts of the First French Empire Politicians from Pays de la Loire Members of the National Constituent Assembly (France) Deputies to the French National Convention Presidents of the National Convention Members of the Council of Five Hundred Members of the Chamber of Representatives (France) Members of the Conseil d'État (France) 18th-century French judges French expatriates in Belgium University of Rennes alumni