Joseph Jean Baptiste Fleuriau, seigneur d'Armenonville (22 January 1661 – 27 November 1728) was a French

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Fleuriau d'Armenonville was born in Paris and obtained a place in government service in 1683 through his brother-in-law, Claude Le Peletier de Morfontaine, then

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 ...

. He served in the financial administration until 1689 when he purchased a post as councillor serving with the

Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. He returned to the finance in 1701 when he was named as director-general of finances, holding the

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

s of "bailli and captain" of

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

. In 1705 he was appointed to the senior grade of Conseiller d'État. In 1716, he was appointed

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs may refer to: * Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Spain) *Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK) The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the fore ...

, a post which was then without any responsibilities as foreign affairs were in fact directed by the Cardinal Dubois. Fleuriau d'Armenonville arranged to have the post pass to his son, Charles Jean Baptiste Fleuriau de Morville (Charles, Count of Morville), who duly took over responsibility for foreign affairs from 16 August 1723, following the death of Cardinal Dubois. Fleuriau d'Armenonville became Secretary of State for the Navy on 24 September 1718, taking over responsibility from the council led by

Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Comte de Toulouse Louis Alexandre de Bourbon (6 June 1678 – 1 December 1737), a Legitimacy (family law), legitimated prince of the blood royal, was the son of Louis XIV and of his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. At the age of five, he ...

, who resigned from the regency, which had previously directed affairs under the polysynody. He remained in office until 1722 when his son Charles took up the post. On leaving the Navy ministry, he became keeper of the seals, holding that office until he resigned on 14 August 1727. Fleuriau d'Armenonville purchased the

Château de Rambouillet The Château de Rambouillet (), also known in English as the Castle of Rambouillet, is a château in the town of Rambouillet, Yvelines department, in the region in northern France, southwest of Paris. It was the summer residence of the Presi ...

from the duc d'Uzès in 1699 for 140,000 livres. He spent half a million livres on works, but sold to the Count of Toulouse in 1706, receiving in return half a million livres and the post of master of the hunt in the

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park that is the western half of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by the Em ...

and surrounds, an office which brought with it the use of the Château de Madrid. Fleuriau d'Armenonville's son Charles Jean Baptiste, Count of Morville, followed him in government service.

References

1661 births 1728 deaths Secretaries of State of the Navy (France) Secretaries of State of Ancien Régime France 18th-century French politicians 17th-century French politicians People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans French nobility {{france-politician-stub

See also

References