Clément Charles François de Laverdy (1723 – 24 November 1793) was a French

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

. __NOTOC__

Life

He was a member of the

Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...

when the case against the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

came before that body in August 1761. He demanded the suppression of the order and thus acquired popularity.

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

named him

Controller-General of Finances The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of 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 (''Surintendant des finances''), which was ab ...

in December 1763, but the tasks at hand seemed to surpass Laverdy's financial abilities. Three months after his nomination, he forbade the publishing of any material concerning his administration, thus refusing both advice and criticism. Two edicts in 1764 and '65 enacted the Laverdy Reforms, remaking civic government throughout France and—''inter alia''—reducing the power of the royal intendants. They were, however, specially excluded from application in

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) 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 . History ...

through a dispensation secured by the

Parlement of Toulouse The Parlement of Toulouse () was one of the '' parlements'' of the Kingdom of France, established in the city of Toulouse and responsible for a territory roughly similar to the modern administrative region of Occitania. It was modelled on the ...

. Laverdy used all means, sometimes illicit ones, to replenish the

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

, and was even accused of having himself profited from the commerce in wheat. A court intrigue led to his sudden dismissal on 1 October 1768. From that moment on, he lived in retirement until, during the French Revolution, he was involved in the charges against the financiers of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. The

Revolutionary Tribunal The Revolutionary Tribunal (; unofficially Popular Tribunal) was a court instituted by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders. In October 1793, it became one of the most powerful engines of ...

sentenced him to death, and he was

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

d in 1793.

Notes

References

* Attribution: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laverdy, Clement, Charles Francois, de 1723 births 1793 deaths 18th-century French politicians French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Finance ministers of France