The Maupeou Triumvirate was the powerful trio of ministers that ruled

Ancien Regime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

France from 1771 to 1774. They came to power in 1771 following a coup orchestrated by

René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou (; 25 February 1714 – 29 July 1792) was a French lawyer, politician, and chancellor of France, whose attempts at reform signalled the failure of enlightened despotism in France. He is best known for ...

. Maupeou became Lord Chancellor and

Keeper of the Seals The title keeper of the seals or equivalent is used in several contexts, denoting the person entitled to keep and authorize use of the great seal of a given country. The title may or may not be linked to a particular cabinet or ministerial offi ...

Joseph Marie Terray Abbot Joseph Marie Terray (1715 – 18 February 1778) was a Controller-General of Finances during the reign of Louis XV of France, an agent of fiscal reform. Biography Terray, tonsured but not a priest, was appointed in 1736 an ecclesiastical co ...

became

Controller-General of Finances The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances (french: Contrôleur général des finances) was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances (''S ...

, and the

Duc d'Aiguillon Duke of Aiguillon ( French: ''duc d'Aiguillon'') was a title of French nobility in the peerage of France, first created in 1599 by Henry IV of France for Henry of Lorraine, son of Charles, Duke of Mayenne. The title takes its name from the town o ...

became foreign minister. The Triumvirate was strongly disliked by the general public, in part because of Maupeou's dismissal of both the Paris and provincial

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 ...

s, which he replaced with restructured and weakened bodies. By 1774, the year of Louis XV's death, factional infighting had divided the three ministers and weakened their collective power. Despite some successes, most notably Terray's relative stabilization of France's abysmal finances, the Triumvirate marked the failure of

enlightened despotism Enlightened absolutism (also called enlightened despotism) refers to the conduct and policies of European absolute monarchs during the 18th and early 19th centuries who were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, espousing them to enhance ...

in the Old Regime. The Triumvirate was overturned in 1774 with the king's death and the ascension of Maurepas.

References

{{Reflist Ancien Régime office-holders Heads of government