Louis-Mathieu Molé (24 January 1781 – 23 November 1855), also 1st Count Molé from 1809 to 1815, was a French

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

, close friend and associate of

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

, King of the French during the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...

(1830–1848).

Biography

Molé was born in Paris. His father, a president of the

parlement A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern Fr ...

of Paris, who came of the family of the famous president noted below, was

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

d during the

Terror Terror(s) or The Terror may refer to: Politics * Reign of Terror, commonly known as The Terror, a period of violence (1793–1794) after the onset of the French Revolution * Terror (politics), a policy of political repression and violence Emoti ...

. Count Molé's early days were spent in Switzerland and in England with his mother, a relative of Lamoignon-Malesherbes. On his return to France, he studied at the Ecole Centrale des Travaux Publics, and his social education was accomplished in the salon of Pauline de Beaumont, the friend of Châteaubriand and

Joubert Joubert is a French surname. It is a regional variant form of Jaubert, originating in the centre west and centre south of France.Albert Dauzat (Foreword by Marie-Thérèse Morlet), ''Noms et prénoms de France'', éditions Larousse 1980. p. 346b. ...

. A volume of ''Essais de morale et de politique'' introduced him to the notice of Napoleon, who attached him to the staff of the

council of state A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

. He became master of requests in 1806, and next year prefect of the

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.Count of the Empire in the autumn of the same year. He served as Napoleon's advisor on Jewish affairs and was heavily involved with Napoleon's gathering of a Jewish

Grand Sanhedrin The Grand Sanhedrin was a Jewish high court convened in Europe by Napoleon to give legal sanction to the principles expressed by an assembly of Jewish notables in answer to the twelve questions submitted to it by the government.Jew. Encyc. v. 46 ...

in 1807. Mole initially did not support

Jewish emancipation Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, e.g. Jewish quotas, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It ...

, though he seems to have moderated his position over the course of his involvement with the Sanhedrin and particularly

Abraham Furtado Abraham Furtado (1756-1817) was born to a French Jewish family of Portuguese Marrano descent. He was born in London after his family emigrated there after the Lisbon earthquake in 1755. Soon after, they moved to a small town in southwestern France, ...

. In November 1813, he became

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a Ministry (government department), ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of ju ...

. Although he resumed his functions as Director-General during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), 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 restorati ...

, he excused himself from taking his seat in the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

and was apparently not seriously compromised, for

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. He spent twenty-three years in e ...

confirmed his appointment as Director-General and made him a peer of France. Molé supported the policy of the

duc de Richelieu Duke of Richelieu (french: duc de Richelieu) was a title of French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (known as Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a Roman Catholic clergyman, had no issue to pass it dow ...

, who in 1817 entrusted to him the direction of the Ministry of Marine, which he held until December 1818. From that time, he belonged to the moderate opposition, and he accepted the result of the revolution of 1830 without enthusiasm. He was

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

in the first cabinet of

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

's reign, and was confronted with the task of reconciling the European powers to the change of government. The real direction of foreign affairs, however, lay less in his hands than in those of Talleyrand, who had gone to London as the ambassador of the new king. After a few months in office, Molé retired, and it was not until 1836 that the fall of Thiers led to his becoming

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

of a new government, in which he held the portfolio of foreign affairs. One of his first actions was the release of the ex-ministers of

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and L ...

, and he had to deal with the disputes with Switzerland and with the Strasburg coup of Louis-Napoléon. He withdrew the French garrison from

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

, but pursued an active policy in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

and in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

. Personal and political differences rapidly arose between Molé and his chief colleague, Guizot, and led to an open rupture in March 1837 in face of the general opposition to a grant to the

duc de Nemours Duke of Nemours was a title in the Peerage of France. The name refers to Nemours in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. History In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Lordship of Nemours, in the Gatinais, France, was a possession ...

. After some attempts to secure a new combination, Molé reconstructed his ministry in April, Guizot being excluded. The general election in the autumn gave him no fresh support in the Chamber of Deputies, while he had now to face a formidable coalition between Guizot, the Left Centre under Thiers, and politicians of the Dynastic Left and the Republican Left. Molé, supported by Louis Philippe, held his ground against the general hostility until the beginning of 1839, when, after acrid discussions on the address, the chamber was dissolved. The new house showed little change in the strength of parties, but Molé resigned on 31 March 1839. A year later he was elected to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, and though he continued to speak frequently, he took no important share in party politics. Louis Philippe sought his help in his vain efforts to form a ministry in February 1848. After the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, he was deputy for the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1, ...

to the Constituent Assembly, and in 1849 to the Legislative Assembly, where he was one of the leaders of the Right until the coup d'état on 2 December 1851 drove him from public life. He died in the family castle of ChamplâtreuxMolé's short biography in Napoleon & Empire website, displaying photographs of the castle and the church
/ref> in Épinay (

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.Paul Thureau-Dangin Paul Thureau-Dangin (14 December 1837 – 24 February 1913), member of the Académie française (1893, later Perpetual Secretary), was a historian of the reign of Louis-Philippe and also of the revival of Catholic The Catholic Church ...

, ''Histoire de la monarchie de juillet'' (1884) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mole, Louis-Mathieu 1781 births 1855 deaths Politicians from Paris Counts Molé Party of Order politicians Prime Ministers of France Ministers of Marine and the Colonies Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic Prefects of France Prefects of Côte-d'Or Members of the Académie Française