Édouard Drouyn de Lhuys (; 19 November 1805 – 1 March 1881) was a French diplomat. Born in Paris, he was educated at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. The scion of a wealthy and noble house, he excelled in rhetoric. He quickly became interested in politics and diplomacy.

Biography

He was ambassador to the Netherlands and Spain, and distinguished himself by his opposition to Guizot. Drouyn de Lhuys served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 1848 to 1849 in the first government of Odilon Barrot. In Barrot's second government, he was replaced by

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 180516 April 1859), was a French Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, diplomat, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works ''Democracy in America'' (appearing in t ...

, and was appointed ambassador to Great Britain. He returned briefly as foreign minister for a few days in January 1851, and then returned permanently in the summer of 1852, becoming the first foreign minister of the Second Empire. He resigned his post in 1855, during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, when the peace preliminaries he had agreed to in consultation with the British and Austrians at Vienna were rejected by

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

. Drouyn de Lhuys returned to power 7 years later, in 1862, when foreign minister Édouard Thouvenel resigned over differences with Napoleon on Italian affairs. Drouyn was thus foreign minister in the lead-up to the Austro-Prussian War. He commented that, "the Emperor has immense desires and limited abilities. He wants to do extraordinary things but is only capable of extravagances." In the aftermath of that war, which was disastrous to French interests in Europe, Drouyn resigned and withdrew into private life.

Honours

* : Knight of the Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius, ''1852'' * : Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Ludwig, ''11 February 1853'' * : Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Charles III, ''27 January 1854'' * : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (civil division), ''23 July 1854'' *

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...

: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Joseph * : Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, ''1855'' * : Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Guadalupe, ''1864'' * Sweden-Norway: Knight of the Royal

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the ...

, ''27 March 1865'' * : Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Charles, ''24 December 1865''Sovereign Ordonnance of 24 December 1865
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References

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 3 March 1881. Accessed 7 October 2008 *The Illustrated London News, May 19, 1855.

1805 births 1881 deaths Politicians from Paris Party of Order politicians Bonapartists Foreign ministers of France Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic French senators of the Second Empire Ambassadors of France to the United Kingdom 19th-century French diplomats French people of the Crimean War Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni University of Paris alumni Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Ambassadors of France to Spain Ambassadors of France to the Netherlands Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa Commanders of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st class Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus {{France-diplomat-stub

Biography

Honours

References

Further reading

See also