Jacques Joseph Guillaume François Pierre, comte de Corbière (22 May 1766 – 12 January 1853) was a French lawyer who became Minister of the Interior. He was intolerant of liberalism and a strong supporter of the church.
Early years
Jacques Joseph Guillaume François Pierre Corbière was born in
Amanlis
Amanlis (; ; Gallo: ''Amanli'') is a commune in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in the region of Brittany in western France. The inhabitants of Amanlis are known as ''Amanlisiens''.
The known history of Amanlis dates back to pre-Roman times ...
, near Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, on 22 May 1766.
He was from a family of laborers. He was at first destined to become a priest, but chose to study law and was admitted to the bar in Rennes.
After the
French Revolution he became commissioner of the
Directory for the municipal administration of Rennes.
On 25 Germinal in the year V Corbière was elected deputy for
Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Ill-e-Vilaenn'', ) is a departments of France, department of France, located in the regions of France, region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named a ...
in the
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred () was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the French Directory, Directory () period of t ...
. He did not play a notable role in the council.
Corbière was charged as a lawyer with managing the estate of
Isaac René Guy le Chapelier
Isaac René Guy Le Chapelier (12 June 1754 – 22 April 1794) was a French jurist and politician of the Revolutionary period.
Biography
Le Chapelier was born in Rennes in Brittany, where his father was ''bâtonnier'' of the corporation of lawy ...
, president of the
National Constituent Assembly, who had died by the guillotine in 1794.
On 10 Nivôse in the year VIII he married le Chapelier's widow, Marie-Esther de la Marre, said to be the most beautiful woman in Rennes.
She was also richly endowed by her brother, Mathurin de la Marre.
Corbière himself was described as ugly, lame, and with his head buried in the shoulders.
The brilliant match helped advance his career, and under 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 ...
he became president of the general council of Ille-et-Vilaine.
Bourbon Restoration
After the fall of the Empire, Corbière became a royalist.
On 22 August 1815 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as representative for the Ille-et-Vilaine department.
He sat on the right, beside
Jean-Baptiste de Villèle
Jean-Baptiste () is a male French language, French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste (name), Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following:
Persons
* Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-B ...
. He was reelected on 4 October 1816.
He was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Law in
Rennes
Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
, and on 20 September 1817 he was again reelected.
He took a consistently conservative position. After the assassination of
Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry
Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry (24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820), was the third child and younger son of Charles, Count of Artois (later King Charles X of France), and Maria Theresa of Savoy. In 1820 he was assassinated at the P ...
. he said that "the way to have good deputies is to have a royalist ministry and censored newspapers."
On 21 December 1820 Corbière was made a Minister of State and president of the Royal Council of Public Education. He wanted to give the church the leading role in education.
In face of growing liberal and irreligious views among college students, Corbière suppressed the
École Normale
École or Ecole may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* Éco ...
in Paris and other faculties.
He resigned in September 1821 due to opposition to the
Simeon
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew, Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Sy ...
-
Pasquier Pasquier is a French surname derived from Latin ''pascuarium'' (verb ''pascere'') meaning "pasture". Pasquier shares the same root of given name and surname Pascal, from Latin ''Pascha'', in turn from the Hebrew ''pesach'' that means literally "pas ...
cabinet, and returned to Brittany to campaign for the next election.
The majority of those elected were opposed to the cabinet, which was dissolved. On 14 December 1821 Villèle was charged with forming a government.
Corbière was given the Interior portfolio, and was made a
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
by the king.
Corbière fired many personnel, fought liberal education and freedom of the press, tried several times to reestablish censorship, and in 1824 tried to buy all the ultra-royalist newspapers, which gave his department difficulty but were hard to prosecute. He was able to buy the ''Drapeau blanc'', the ''Gazette de France'', the ''
Journal de Paris
The (1777–1840) was the first daily French newspaper.(7 October 2014)The first French daily: Journal de Paris History of JournalismAndrews, ElizabethBetween Auteurs and Abonnés: Reading the Journal de Paris, 1787–1789 ''Journal of the Weste ...
'' and other papers, but could not acquire the ''Quotidienne''. M. Michaud had four twelfths of the shares and refused to sell. Michaud was taken to court, but won on appeal.
Corbière dissolved the National Guard of Paris in 1827. He lost his portfolio when the cabinet resigned on 4 January 1828.
The same day he was made a Minister of State, member of the privy council, knight of the
Order of the Holy Spirit
The Order of the Holy Spirit (; sometimes translated into English as the Order of the Holy Ghost) is a French order of chivalry founded by Henry III of France in 1578. Today, it is a dynastic order under the House of France.
It should not be c ...
and a peer of France.
Last years
Corbière refused to give swear allegiance to
Louis Philippe I
Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...
after the
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...
of 1830, and left the chamber of peers.
He retired to Brittany, where he became a passionate collector of old editions of the classics.
Corbière died in
Rennes
Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
on 12 January 1853. He was aged 86.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbiere, Jacques Joseph Guillaume Francois Pierre, comte de
1766 births
1853 deaths
French interior ministers