Laurent Cunin-Gridaine (10 July 1778 – 19 April 1859) was a French businessman and politician. He was a deputy from 1827 to 1848, and Minister of Agriculture and Commerce from 1839 to 1848, with one short interruption.

Early years

Laurent Cunin-Gridaine was born in

Sedan, Ardennes Sedan () is a commune in the Ardennes department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. It is also the chef-lieu (administrative centre) of the arrondissement of the same name. Location The town is situated about 200 km from Paris, ...

, on 10 July 1778. He started work for a M. Gridaine, a clothier in Sedan, as a simple workman. His employer recognized his intelligence and took him as his associate, and then as his son. He became wealthy, and was elected a municipal councilor in Sedan. On 17 November 1827 Cunin-Gridaine ran successfully for election as deputy in the first electoral district of the Ardennes (Mézières). He joined the constitutionalist opposition, spoke in favor of press freedom and was a signatory of the

Address of the 221 The Address of the 221 was an address to king Charles X of France by the chambre des députés at the opening of the French parliament on 18 March 1830. It expressed the defiance of the chambre's liberal majority of 221 deputies to the ministry ...

. He was reelected on 12 July 1830.

July Monarchy

Cunin-Gridaine was a strong supporter of the government after the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

of 1830. He was named to the general council of the Ardennes and was appointed president of the commercial court of Sedan. He was reelected as deputy on 5 July 1831, 21 June 1834, 4 November 1837 and 2 March 1839. In 1834 he transferred management of his company to his two sons. On 12 May 1837 he was named Minister of Commerce in the ministry of

Jean-de-Dieu Soult Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Fren ...

, holding office until the cabinet fell on 29 February 1840. He returned as Minister of Commerce on 29 October 1840 in the new Guizot cabinet, remaining in office until the

February Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...

overthrew the monarchy. During his ministry he organized the Industrial Exhibition of 1844.

Last years

Cunin-Gridaine returned to private life after the

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

. He was a member of the international jury of the

Exposition Universelle (1855) The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris from 15 May to 15 November 1855. Its full official title was the Exposition Universelle des produits de l'Agriculture, de l'Industrie et des B ...

. He became a Knight of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1828, an officer in 1833 and a Grand Officer on 29 October 1843. Laurent Cunin-Gridaine died in Sedan on 19 April 1859.

References

Citations Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunin-Gridaine, Laurent 1778 births 1859 deaths French Ministers of Agriculture and Commerce