Louis-Emmanuel Corvetto (12 July 1756 – 21 May 1821) was a Genoese lawyer who supported 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 conside ...

, became a leading politician under the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

and was a successful Minister of Finance at the start of the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

Early years

Luigi Emanuele Corvetto was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, Italy, on 12 July 1756. His family originated in Nervi, east of Genoa. He was the oldest son of Luigi Corvetto and Maddalena Turpia. His father was a professor of civil architecture in Genoa and his mother was from a family of merchants doing business in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. At the age of eleven he entered the church school at Genoa, where he did well in classical studies and showing a strong taste for literature. He then studied law, specializing in commercial and maritime law. He spoke excellent French. In 1788 Corvetto married Anna Schiaffino in Geneo, from a well-known trading family. Of their children, two daughters survived and married.

Political career

Corvetto supported the French Revolution, and in 1797 was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board of the

Ligurian Republic The Ligurian Republic ( it, Repubblica Ligure, lij, Repubbrica Ligure) was a French client republic formed by Napoleon on 14 June 1797. It consisted of the old Republic of Genoa, which covered most of the Ligurian region of Northwest Italy, and ...

. He became a member of the State Council in 1806. In 1814 he was naturalized as a French citizen. Under the

Corvetto was appointed Minister of Finance, holding office from 26 September 1815 to 7 December 1818. He was able to restore financial stability and reestablish the credit of the state. Corvetto died in Genoa on 21 May 1821, aged 64.

References

Citations Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corvetto, Louis-Emmanuel 1756 births 1821 deaths French Ministers of Finance 18th-century Italian lawyers 19th-century Italian lawyers Italian expatriates in France