Hugues-Bernard Maret (, 1 May 1763 – 13 May 1839), 1st Duke of Bassano (''Duc de Bassano''), was a French statesman, diplomat and journalist.

Biography

Early career

Maret was born in

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, in the province of Burgundy, as the second son of a physician and scholar at the

Academy of Dijon In France, various types of institution have the term "University" in their name. These include the public universities, which are the autonomous institutions that are distinguished as being state institutes of higher education and research that p ...

. Destined for a medical career by his father, he instead decided to study Law, and after receiving a solid education Maret entered the legal profession, becoming a lawyer at the King's Council in Paris. The ideas of 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

profoundly influenced him, wholly altering his career. The interest aroused by the debates of the first

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 rep ...

suggested to him the idea of publishing them in the ''Bulletin de l'Assemblée''. The journalist

Charles-Joseph Panckoucke Charles-Joseph Panckoucke (; 26 November 1736 – 19 December 1798) was a French writer and publisher. He was responsible for numerous influential publications of the era, including the literary journal ''Mercure de France'' and the ''Encyclopéd ...

(1736–1798), owner of the ''

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published ...

'' and publisher of the famous ''

Encyclopédie ''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publis ...

'' (1785), persuaded him to merge this in a larger paper, ''

Le Moniteur Universel was a French newspaper founded in Paris on November 24, 1789 under the title by Charles-Joseph Panckoucke, and which ceased publication on December 31, 1868. It was the main French newspaper during the French Revolution and was for a long tim ...

'', which gained a wide repute for correctness and impartiality. He was a member of the moderate club, the Feuillants, but, with the overthrow of the monarchy and the

insurrection of 10 August 1792 The Insurrection of 10 August 1792 was a defining event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The conflict led France to abolish the mona ...

he accepted a post in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he sometimes exercised a steadying influence. On the withdrawal of the British legation, Citizen Maret (as he was then known) went on a mission to London, where he had a favourable interview with

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

on 22 December 1792 – all hope of an accommodation was, however, in vain. After the execution of Bourbon King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

(21 January 1793), the chief French diplomatic agent, Bernard-François de Chauvelin, was ordered to leave Britain, while the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...

declared war (1 February 1793 – ''see

Campaigns of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

''). These events limited the impact of Maret's second mission to London in January 1794.

Envoy of the Republic

After a space in which he held no diplomatic post, he became Ambassador of the French Republic to the Kingdom of Naples; but, while negotiating with Charles de Sémonville he was captured by the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

and was kept for some thirty months, until, at the close of 1795, the two were set free in return for the liberation of

Princess Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

, the daughter of ex-King Louis XVI. For a time Maret returned to journalism, but he played a useful part in the negotiations for a peace with Britain which went on at

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...

during the summer of 1797, until the victory of the Jacobin Club in Paris in the ''coup d'état'' of 18 Fructidor (September 1797) frustrated the hopes of Pitt for peace and inflicted on Maret another reverse of fortune. On

Napoleon 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 ...

's return from Egypt in 1799, Maret joined the general's party which came to power with the

18 Brumaire coup 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'' over ...

(9 November–10).

Consulate and Empire

Blason Hugues Bernard Maret (1763-1839) Duc de Bassano

Maret now became one of Napoleon's secretaries and shortly afterwards Secretary of State. An experienced politician, he rendered services of major value to the

French Consulate The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Co ...

and

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 ...

. The ''Moniteur'', which became the official State Journal in 1800, was placed under his control. He sometimes succeeded in toning down the hard, abrupt language of Napoleon's communications, and in every way proved a useful intermediary. It is known that he had a share in the drawing up of the new constitutions for the Batavian and Italian Republics. In 1804, he became Minister; in 1807, he was created

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

; and in 1809, he was granted the title of '' Duc de Bassano'', one of the titles with the status of '' duché grand-fief'' in Napoleon's

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

. This was a rare hereditary honor (extinct in 1906), which gives an insight into how well respected his work was by the Emperor. He was extremely devoted to Napoleon, as shown by his work to pass into law the artifices adopted by the latter in April–May 1808 in order to make himself master of the destinies of Spain (''see

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

''). Maret also assisted in drawing up the Spanish Constitution of 1808, which was rejected by almost all Spanish subjects. He accompanied Napoleon through most of his campaigns, including that of 1809 against the

Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Empir ...

, and he expressed himself in favour of the marriage alliance with the Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, which took place in 1810. In the spring of 1811, the Duc de Bassano replaced Jean-Baptiste de Champagny, as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

. In this capacity he showed his usual ability and devotion, concluding the treaties between France and Austria and between France and Prussia, which preceded the French invasion of Russia in 1812. He was with Napoleon through the greater part of that campaign, and after the major defeat, helped to prepare the new forces with which Napoleon waged the equally unsuccessful campaign of 1813 against the

Sixth Coalition Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six. * The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction Music * Sixth interval (music)s: ** major sixth, a musical interval ** minor six ...

End of the Empire, exile, and return

In November 1813 Napoleon replaced Maret with Armand, Marquis of Caulaincourt, who was known to be devoted to the cause of peace and had a personal connection to

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

. Maret, however, as private secretary of Napoleon, remained with him through the campaign of 1814, as well as during that of 1815 and the Hundred Days. After the restoration of the Bourbons, Maret was exiled. He retired to Graz, where he occupied himself with literary work. In 1820 he was allowed to return to France. 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, the new

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

elevated him as a Peer of France. In November 1834 Maret served a short time as Prime Minister of France. The Duc de Bassano died at Paris in 1839.

References