Jean-François Aimé, Count of Dejean (1749–1824), was a French army officer and minister of state in the service of the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

and 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 Eu ...

Biography

Jean-François was born in 1749 in

Castelnaudary Castelnaudary (; oc, Castèlnòu d'Arri) is a commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region of southern France. It is located in the former province of the Lauragais and famous for cassoulet of which it claims to be the world capital ...

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

. He entered the Royal French army as a second lieutenant in the engineering school of Mézières in 1766. At the time 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, Dejean embraced the principles of moderate reform. His talents in military administration gained him rapid advancement through the ranks of the army engineers. He replaced

Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville (10 May 1752 – 23 April 1821) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and later a marshal of France and Deputy Grand Master of Grand Orient de France.Dictionnaire de la Franc-maçonnerie ...

as commander of the ''

Army of the North The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...

'' on 16 September 1796 and his tenure lasted until 24 September 1797 when he handed the assignment back to Beurnonville. Dejean performed a variety of important missions as a consulate, including to Genoa, where he lived for nearly two years with the title of minister extraordinary. He was recalled to Paris in 1802 to take the portfolio of Minister of War Administration (a position he held until 1809). Shortly before his retirement from the ministry, he was promoted to the rank of chief inspector-general of fortifications. The Emperor

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 ...

soon afterwards made him a senator and a ''Trésorier de la légion-d'honneur'' (treasurer of the Legion of Honour). After the abdication of Napoleon in 1814, Dejean joined the Provisional Government, and performed the difficult task of extraordinary commissioner to

Comte d'Artois Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

(the future Charles X). He was also appointed, a Peer of France, Governor of L'Ecole Polytechnique and Chairman of the Committee for the Liquidation of Arrears. But in 1815, having accepted service under Napoleon Bonaparte during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

, he was removed from all public offices on return of the Bourbon regime. In 1819 Dejean returned to the ''

Chambre des Pairs {{Infobox legislature , name = Chamber of Peers , native_name = Chambre des Pairs , native_name_lang = French , transcription_name = , legislature = , coa_pic = Coat_of_Arms_of_the_July_Monarchy_(183 ...

'' (French House of Lords), where he consistently supported the liberal opposition. He died on 12 May 1824.

Notes

References

* Attribution: * 1749 births 1824 deaths French generals Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Peace commissioners of the French Provisional Government of 1815 Peers of France People from Castelnaudary Politicians of the First French Empire Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe {{France-mil-bio-stub