The Superintendent of Finances (french: Surintendant des finances) was the name of the minister in charge of finances in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1561 to 1661. The position was abolished in 1661 with the downfall of

Nicolas Fouquet Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (27 January 1615 – 23 March 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV. He had a glittering career, and acquired enormous wealth ...

, and a new position was created, the

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 ('' ...

History

Before 1561

Prior to the creation of the position "Surintendant des finances", France's royal financial administration had been run—from the time of Charles VII—by two financial boards which worked in a collegial manner: the four ''Généraux des finances'' oversaw the collection of taxes (

taille The ''taille'' () was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in ''Ancien Régime'' France. The tax was imposed on each household and was based on how much land it held, and was directly paid to the state. History Originally o ...

, etc.) and the four ''Trésoriers de France'' (Treasurers) oversaw revenues from royal lands (the "domaine"). Together they were often referred to as "Messieurs des finances". The four members of each board were divided by geographical circumscriptions ("recettes générales" or "

généralité ''Recettes générales'', commonly known as ''généralités'' (), were the administrative divisions of France under the Ancien Régime and are often considered to prefigure the current ''préfectures''. At the time of the French Revolution, there ...

s"; the areas were named Languedoïl, Languedoc, Normandy, and Outre-Seine and Yonne), with the directors of the "Languedoïl" region typically having an honorific preeminence. The double-board was assisted in its work by four "contrôleurs généraux". Before 1523-24, the King's Council had very little direct say on the day-to-day running of the double-boards. In 1523,

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

, in an effort to exert a more direct control over royal finances during his European wars and to circumvent the double-board (accused of poor oversight) -- created a separate Royal Treasury (''Trésor de l'Épargne'') directly under the control of the King's Council (analogous institutions had existed before), but the initial results were disappointing. From this moment through the next 40 years, numerous administrative reforms were attempted: increase in the number of "généralités"; unification of the tasks of the double-board into new positions (such as two "contrôleurs généraux" subservient to the Royal Treasurer); changes in the royal financial courts ("

Cour des Comptes The ''Cour des Comptes'' ("Court of Accounts") is France's supreme audit institution, under French law an administrative court. As such, it is independent from the legislative and executive branches of the French Government. However, the 1946 and ...

", "

Cour des Aides The Courts of Aids (French: ''Cours des aides'') were sovereign courts in ''Ancien Régime'' France, primarily concerned with customs, but also other matters of public finance. They exercised some control over certain excise taxes and octroi dutie ...

"); creation of numerous provincial financial officers and boards; creation of the positions of "intendents" of finance (see below). With the increased role of the King's Council in financial matters, certain high-ranked nobles (like

Anne de Montmorency Anne, Duke of Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter (15 March 1493, Chantilly, Oise12 November 1567, Paris) was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France and served five kings. Early lif ...

or Charles of Lorraine, Cardinal of Guise) exerted a stronger advisory role over finances. Although there was no official "Minister of Finances" in this period, certain individuals exerted an equivalent administrative role. ;Under Francis I: *1518–1524: Jacques de Beaune, baron de Semblançay ;Under Henry II: *1552: André Guillart *1556: Jean de Saint Marcel d'Avançon

Surintendant des finances

The position "Surintendant des finances" was officially created in 1561 during the reign of Charles IX, although some royal financial advisors had performed analogous duties previously. The position grew out of the positions of

Intendant An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...

s of Finances, officially created in 1552 by Henry II to oversee royal finances during the king's travels in Germany (he sought an alliance with Protestant Princes). At the time, three Intendants of Finances were named, and one of them would also participate in the Privy Counsel, thus the designation "superintendent". In 1561, the position fell to two individuals:

Artus de Cossé-Brissac Artus de Cossé-Brissac (1512–1582), lord of Gonnor and Comte de Secondigny, was a Marshal of France, an office he was elevated to in 1567. He served to administer the armies finances during the first of the French Wars of Religion and would lea ...

and the comte de Chaulnes. An administrative ruling on 23 October 1563 mandated once-a-week reunions of the Conseil du Roi (King's Counsel) to deal with financial questions of finances; to this meeting would come the superintendent of finances and other officers of country's financial administration, such as the Treasurer (trésorier de l'Épargne). In 1567, Cossé was promoted to

maréchal de France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

; he resigned his post in favor of René de Birague (as did too, apparently, the comte de Chaulnes); René de Birague was thus the sole "superintendent". In 1570, the position was assumed by the ''Conseil royal des finances''. Henry III suppressed the ''Conseil royal des finances'' in 1574 and named a superintendent. Henry IV replaced the superintendent with a counsel. In this way, the position appeared intermittently, its fate tied to that of the ''Conseil des finances''. On 5 September 1661,

was arrested for financial misdealings and brought to trial. On the 12th, the position of Supertintendant was replaced by a ''Conseil royal des finances'', attended by an

intendant An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...

, named the

Contrôleur général des 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 ('' ...

; this position first fell to

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

List of Surintendants des finances

*1561-1567:

;

Louis d' Ongnies 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 (d ...

, comte de Chaulnes *1568-1571: René de Birague *1574-1588:

Pompone de Bellièvre Pompone de Bellièvre (1606–1657) was a French magistrate, ambassador and statesman, ending his career as first president of the Parliament of Paris, from 1653 to 1657. Life Bellièvre was the son, nephew, and grandson of eminent men. B ...

*1588-1594: François d'O *1594-1597: A Council of 9 members: Pompone de Bellièvre,

Henri I de Montmorency Henri I de Montmorency (15 June 1534 in Chantilly, Oise – 2 April 1614), Marshal of France, and Constable of France, seigneur of Damville, served as Governor of Languedoc from 1563 to 1614. Biography Born on 15 June 1534, Henri was the son ...

Albert de Gondi Albert de Gondi, duc de Retz (4 November 1522 in Florence – 1602) seigneur du Perron, comte, then marquis de Belle-Isle (1573), duc de Retz (from 1581), was a marshal of France and a member of the Gondi family. Beginning his career during the ...

Gaspard de Schomberg Gaspard de Schomberg, comte de Nanteuil ( –17 March 1599) was a French soldier, courtier, diplomat, statesman and governor during the French Wars of Religion. Of Sachsen descent, Gaspard naturalised as French. He began his career during the ...

, Jacques de la Grange-le-Roy, Pierre Forges de Fresnes, Philippe Hurault de Chiverny and

Nicolas de Harlay, sieur de Sancy Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

*1597-1611: Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully *1611-1616: A Council of 3 members: Pierre Jeannin,

Guillaume de L'Aubespin Guillaume may refer to: People * Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William * Guillaume (surname) Other uses * Guillaume (crater) See also

* ''Chanson de Guillaume'', an 11th or 12th century poem * Guillaume affair, a Cold War e ...

and Jacques-Auguste de Thou *1616-1617:

Claude Barbin Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...

*1617-1619: Pierre Jeannin *1619-1623:

Henri de Schomberg Henri de Schomberg, Comte de Nanteuil (1575 – 17 November 1632), was a Marshal of France during the reign of Louis XIII. Biography Schomberg was born at Paris. Superintendent of Finances from 1619 to 1623. He became Marshal of France in 162 ...

*1623-1624: Charles de La Vieuville *1624-1626: A Council of 2 members: Jean de Bochart, Michel de Marillac *1626-1632: Antoine Coiffier de Ruzé, marquis d'Effiat *1632-1640: A Council of 2 members: Claude de Bullion, Claude Bouthilier *1640-1643: Claude Bouthilier *1643-1647: A Council of 3 members: Nicolas de Bailleuil; Claude de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux; Michel Particelli d'Hémery *1647-1648: Council of above without de Bailleuil *1648-1649:

Charles de La Porte Charles de La Porte (1602 in Paris – 8 February 1664 in Paris) was a French nobleman and general. He was marquis then duke of La Meilleraye, duke of Rethel and peer of France, baron of Parthenay and of Saint-Maixent, count of Secondigny, sei ...

*1649-1650: Same council as earlier *1650-1651: René de Longueil *1651-1653: Charles de La Vieuville *1653-1659: A Council of 2 members:

Abel Servien Abel Servien, marquis de Sablé et de Boisdauphin and comte de La Roche des Aubiers (1 November 159317 February 1659) was a French diplomat who served Cardinal Mazarin and signed for the French the Treaty of Westphalia. He was an early member of th ...

*1659-1661: Nicolas Fouquet

References

*''This article is largely based on a translation of the article

Surintendant des finances The Superintendent of Finances (french: Surintendant des finances) was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1561 to 1661. The position was abolished in 1661 with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet, and a new position was cr ...

from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has article ...

on 12 August 2006.'' * Bernard Barbiche, ''Les Institutions de la monarchie française à l'époque moderne'', Paris: PUF, collection "Premier Cycle", 1999. * Daniel Dessert, ''Argent, pouvoir et société au grand siècle'', Paris: Fayard, 1984. * Arlette Jouanna, Philippe Hamon, Dominique Biloghi, Guy Le Thiec, "Finances", ''La France de la Renaissance: Histoire et Dictionnaire,'' Paris: Laffont, 2001. {{Finance Ministers of France Offices in the Ancien Régime Economic history of the Ancien Régime