The French Provisional Government or French Executive Commission of 1815 replaced the French government of the Hundred Days that had been formed by

Napoleon 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 ...

after his return from exile on

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

. It was formed on 22 June 1815 after the abdication of Napoleon following his defeat at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

. The government acted under the nominal authority of

Napoleon II Napoleon II (Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte; 20 March 181122 July 1832) was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise, d ...

, who had technically succeeded his father as Emperor after the abdication; however, this was a mere formality, since Napoleon II was a four-year-old child and was in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

with his mother

Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise is a French feminine given name, compound given name. In other languages, it may take one of several alternate forms: * Maria Luiza (Bulgarian, Portuguese) * Maria Luisa (Italian, Spanish) * Maria Luise (German) * Mari ...

, and thus unable to actually exercise his powers. Following the second Bourbon Restoration, on 9 July 1815 the Provisional Government was replaced by the Ministry of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord.

Formation

On 12 June 1815 Napoleon left Paris for modern day Belgium, where the two Coalition armies, an allied one commanded by the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

and a Prussian one under Prince

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), ''Graf'' (count), later elevated to ''Fürst'' (prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal). He earned his greatest ...

were assembling. Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815. He returned to Paris and abdicated for the second time on 22 June 1815. That day the two chambers nominated the members of the Provisional Government, that would serve as government until the second Bourbon Restoration.

Members

The members of the commission named on 22 June 1815 were: *

Joseph Fouché Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché (; 21 May 1759 – 26 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. H ...

(President) *

Lazare Carnot Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot (; 13 May 1753 – 2 August 1823) was a French mathematician, physicist, military officer, politician and a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution. His military refor ...

* Paul Grenier *

Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt Armand-Augustin-Louis de Caulaincourt, duc de Vicenza, Vicence (, 9 December 177319 February 1827), was a French people, French military officer, diplomat and close advisor to Napoleon I. Early life and family Armand de Caulaincourt was born int ...

* Nicolas Marie Quinette

Ministers

On 23 June 1815 new provisional commissioners were named to head four of the ministries: *

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

: Louis Pierre Édouard, Baron Bignon * Interior:

Claude-Marie Carnot Claude-Marie Carnot (called Carnot-Feulins; 15 July 1755 – 16 October 1836) was a French soldier, the brother of Lazare Carnot (1753-1823). He was a deputy to the Legislative Assembly of 1791, a Representative during the Hundred Days of 1815 and ...

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

: Joseph Pelet de la Lozère *

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

: Antoine Boulay de la Meurthe The other commissioners retained their positions. They were: *

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

: Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin * Treasury: Nicolas François, Count Mollien * Navy and Colonies: Denis Decrès *

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

Louis-Nicolas Davout Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (; 10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, was a French people, French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolution ...

Events

On 23 June 1815

was declared Emperor. The two Coalition armies under Prince Blücher and the Duke of Wellington and advanced from the north and surrounded Paris. On 3 July 1815 the commissioners surrendered Paris under the terms of the Convention of St. Cloud. With the capital and departments occupied by Coalition troops, the Executive Commission was unable to function and resigned on 7 July 1815. The ministry of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord took office on 9 July 1815.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Provisional Government of 1815 1815 establishments in France 1815 disestablishments in France Cabinets established in 1815 Cabinets disestablished in 1815 Provisional governments in France Hundred Days June 1815 July 1815 Napoleon II