Pierre François Hercule de Serre
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Pierre François Hercule de Serre (12 March 1776 – 21 July 1824) was a French soldier, lawyer and politician. He was a deputy from 1815 to 1824, and was Minister of Justice in three successive cabinets from 1818 to 1821. He sat on the center-right, but had liberal views on press freedom, direct elections and the use of juries.


Early years

Pierre François Hercule de Serre was born in
Pagny-sur-Moselle Pagny-sur-Moselle (, literally ''Pagny on Moselle'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department * Parc naturel régional de Lorraine Lorraine Regional Na ...
, Meurthe, on 12 March 1776. His family originated in the
Comtat Venaissin The Comtat Venaissin (; Provençal: , Mistralian norm: , classical norm: ; 'County of Venaissin'), often called the for short, was a part of the Papal States (1274‒1791) in what is now the region of France. The entire region was an enclave ...
, but had become established in Lorraine. His father was François-Louis de Serre, a former cavalry officer, lord of the fief of Coureol, and Barbe-Marguerite de Maudhuy de Beauharnais. Hercule de Serre was destined for a career in the army, and studied at the School of Artillery at Chalons-sur-Marne. During 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 ...
(1789–98) he emigrated and served in the Army of Condé. He did not return to France until 1802. He studied law and was admitted to the Bar of
Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
, where he distinguished himself.
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 ...
appointed him Advocate General of Metz on 23 February 1811, then first president of the Imperial Court of Hamburg on 14 July 1811.


Deputy

Hercule de Serre supported 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: * ...
, and was appointed First President of the Court of Colmar in January 1815. He accompanied King
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...
to
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
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 ...
(March–July 1815) when Napoleon returned from exile. On 15 August 1815 he was elected deputy for
Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is the ...
. He sat with the majority, supporting the government. He proposed, unsuccessfully, an amendment to the draft law on suspension of individual liberty. He defended General André Masséna against a petition demanding action against him. He also opposed the conclusions of the report of Kergolay on the return of unsold goods to the clergy. He was closely aligned with the views of
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (21 June 1763 – 2 September 1845) was a French statesman and philosopher, leader of the Doctrinaires group during the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830). Biography Early life He was born at Sompuis, near Vitry-le-Franç ...
. De Serre was reelected on 4 October 1816 and on 20 September 1817. He sat with the majority, and in January 1817 was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies, replacing Étienne-Denis Pasquier. He held this position until the end of 1818, when he was replaced by
Auguste Ravez Auguste may refer to: People Surname * Arsène Auguste (born 1951), Haitian footballer * Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman * Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter * Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gold an ...
. He tended to favor direct elections, but opposed the requirement to reelect members appointed to permanent offices, and approved the suspension of individual liberty. As Speaker, he proposed a new regulation of severe penalties for interruptions.


Minister of Justice

On 30 December 1818 de Serre accepted the Justice portfolio in the Ministry of Jean-Joseph Dessolles. After agreement with Royer-Collard and the main
Doctrinaires During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Head ...
, he presented three new press laws establishing freedom from prior censorship, the competence of the jury even for minor offenses, and the admission of testimonial proof against officials. These proposals were attacked by the royalist right, and were not passed. On the other hand, he alienated liberal opinion when he said that the Charter of 1814 applied to voters; temporary exiles could still hope to return to France; but regicides never. This extreme statement was later modified to allow that the king could grant clemency for age and infirmity. De Serre retained his position in the Ministry of Élie Decazes, formed on 19 November 1819. De Serre agreed with Élie Decazes when he wanted to change the electoral law. He did not follow his colleagues in their retreat after the assassination of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry. He remained Minister of Justice in the Second ministry of Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis de Richelieu. After a stay in
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
to recover his health, at the end in April 1820 he resumed the struggle against the opponents of the proposed electoral law. The opposition was led by the Doctrinaire group and Royer-Collard. De Serre did not hesitate to eliminate his old friend from the Council of State. He recommended that magistrates apply the utmost rigor against "revolutionaries".


Later career

De Serre refused to join the Ministry of Joseph de Villèle and was succeeded as Minister of Justice by
Pierre-Denis, Comte de Peyronnet Pierre-Denis, comte de Peyronnet (9 October 1778, in Bordeaux – 2 January 1854) was the president of the Bordeaux Court in France in 1815, Minister of Justice from 1821 to 1828 and four times Minister of Interior. Opposed to Napoleon's Empire, ...
on 13 December 1821. He resumed his place in the Chamber on the center-right, and spoke in favor of the jurisdiction of juries in press trials. On 9 January 1822 he was appointed ambassador to the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
. He attended the Congress of Verona. He ran without success in the legislative elections in 1824. He died later that year from a chest ailment. Serre died in Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples, on 21 July 1824 at the age of 48.


References

Citations Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Serre, Pierre-Francois-Hercule de 1776 births 1824 deaths Lawyers from Metz French Ministers of Justice French counter-revolutionaries Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (France) 19th-century French lawyers