François-Marie, Marquess of Barthélemy (20 October 1747 - April 1830

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French politician and diplomat, active at the time of the French Revolution.

Biography

Diplomat and member of the Directory

Born in

Aubagne Aubagne (; according to the classic norm or according to the Mistralian norm) is a Commune in France, commune in the southern French Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2020, the commune was awarded three flowers by the ...

, he was educated by his uncle the ''

abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...

'' Jean-Jacques Barthélemy for a diplomatic career. After serving as secretary of

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, in

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and in the

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

, he was appointed

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

in Switzerland, in which capacity he negotiated the treaties of Basel with

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and

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(1795). This, in turn, cites as references: *Marquis de Barthélemy, ''Papiers'', published by Jean Kaulek, 4 vols. (Paris, 1886–1888) * Albert Sorel, ''L'Europe et la Révolution française'', iv. (Paris, 1892) *Ludovic Sciout, ''Le Directoire'' (Paris, 1895) Elected a member of the Directory in May 1797, through

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

influence, he was arrested after General Augereau's anti-Royalist ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

'' of the 18 Fructidor (17 September 1797), and deported to

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

, but escaped and made his way to

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, then to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and finally to Britain.

Empire

Barthélemy returned to France after

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's 18 Brumaire coup, entered the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in February 1800 and contributed to the establishment of the Consulship for life and the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

. In 1814 he abandoned Napoleon, voted the Acte de déchéance de l'Empereur and took part in the drawing up of

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 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. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

's Constitutional Charter and was named

Peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

. During the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), 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 of King Louis XVIII o ...

he lived in concealment, and after the Second Restoration obtained the title ''marquis'', and in 1819 introduced a motion in the chamber of Peers tending to render the electoral law more

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

Legacy

The Rue François Barthélémy in Héricy is named after him.

Death

Barthélemy died 3 April 1830 in Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barthelemy, Francois, marquis de 1747 births 1830 deaths People from Aubagne French marquesses French proslavery activists Directeurs of the First French Republic Members of the Sénat conservateur Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration Ambassadors of France to Great Britain 18th-century French diplomats Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery