Abbé François-Xavier-Marc-Antoine de Montesquiou-Fézensac (château de Marsan,

Gers Gers (; or , ) is a departments of France, department in the regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southwestern France. Gers is bordered by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques to ...

, 3 August 1757 – Chateau de Cirey,

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Anne-Pierre, marquis de Montesquiou-Fézensac Anne-Pierre, marquis de Montesquiou-Fézensac (17 October 173930 December 1798) was a French general and writer. Due to his literary talent, he became a member of the Académie Française in 1784. He was elected to the Estates General of 1789. ...

would serve alongside him in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. Montesquiou-Fézensac was named (1782) Abbé of Beaulieu, near

Langres Langres () is a commune in France, commune in northeastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Haute-Marne, in the Regions of France, region of Grand Est. History As the capital ...

. The Abbé de Montesquieu attended the

Assembly of the French clergy The assembly of the French clergy (''assemblée du clergé de France'') was in its origins a representative meeting of the Catholic clergy of France, held every five years, for the purpose of apportioning the financial burdens laid upon the clergy ...

(1785) as Agent-General.

French Revolution

The Abbé was elected by the First Estate of

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 ...

to the

Estates General of 1789 The Estates General of 1789 () was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). It was the last of the Estates General of the Kingdom ...

. He would stand out alongside the

Abbé Maury Jean-Sifrein Maury (; 26 June 1746 – 10 May 1817) was a French cardinal, archbishop of Paris, and former bishop of Montefiascone. Biography The son of a cobbler, he was born at Valréas in the Comtat-Venaissin, the enclave within France that ...

by his oratory, and was elected president of the

three times. He presided over the Assembly an impressive three terms (4–18 January 1790; 28 February - 15 March 1790; 14–30 March 1791). He opposed strongly the

Civil Constitution of the Clergy The Civil Constitution of the Clergy () was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that sought the Caesaropapism, complete control over the Catholic Church in France by the National Constituent Assembly (France), French gove ...

and supported the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

. He was forced to flee to England after the

Storming of the Tuileries The insurrection of 10 August 1792 was a defining event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The conflict led France to abolish the mona ...

(10 August 1792). He lived in 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 ...

1792-1795 during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

Restoration

He returned to France after

9 Thermidor Maximilien Robespierre addressed the National Convention on 26 July 1794, was arrested the next day, and executed on 28 July. In his speech on 26 July, Robespierre spoke of the existence of internal enemies, conspirators, and calumniators, with ...

(27 July 1794) and immediately took up the royalist cause as one of the agents of

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 ...

. He became a member of the Royalist Committee in Paris, and for his activism he was once exiled to

Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

. Under the

First Restoration The First Restoration was a period in French history that saw the return of the House of Bourbon to the throne, between the abdication of Napoleon in the spring of 1814 and the Hundred Days in March 1815. The regime was born following the victo ...

he was appointed

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

( 13 May 1814 - 19 March 1815 ). In his brief term he appointed

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-F ...

and director of the library

François Guizot François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French historian, orator and Politician, statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics between the July Revolution, Revolution of 1830 and the Revoluti ...

secretary general. The Second Restoration, he had the title of

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

. Elected deputy by the department of

, he opted for the Chamber of Peers with the title of Count (as of 31 August 1817) and Duke (as of 30 April 1821). He resigned his peerage 9 January 1832, shortly before his death. He was appointed member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

by royal decree of 21 March 1816 . He was also elected member of the

Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

on 12 August 1816. He left manuscripts on the history of Louis XV and Louis XVI and a travel journal for the U.S. and Canada but did nothing to have them published.

External links

* William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan
Article on the journal of the abbé de Montesquiou's North American trip

Article on the abbé de Montesquiou
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montesquiou-Fezensac, Francois-Xavier-Marc-Antoine de 1757 births 1832 deaths Francois Dukes of France French abbots Legitimists French interior ministers Members of the National Constituent Assembly (France) Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Members of Parliament for Gers Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration 19th-century French historians Members of the Académie Française Order of the Holy Spirit