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Ministry of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord

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Talleyrand Ministry

Cabinet of France
Date formed9 July 1815
Date dissolved26 September 1815
People and organisations
Head of stateLouis XVIII of France
Head of governmentCharles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Total no. of members5
Member partyDoctrinaire, nonpartisans
Opposition partyUltras
Opposition leaderFrançois-Régis de La Bourdonnaye
History
ElectionAugust 1815
PredecessorFrench Provisional Government of 1815
SuccessorFirst ministry of Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis de Richelieu

The Ministry of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was formed on 9 July 1815 after the second Bourbon Restoration under King Louis XVIII of France. It replaced the French Provisional Government of 1815 that had been formed when Napoleon abdicated after the Battle of Waterloo. The cabinet was dissolved on 26 September 1815 and replaced by the First ministry of Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis de Richelieu.

Formation and actions

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The Prince of Talleyrand was again called to form a government by Louis XVIII, after the arrival of the King in Saint-Denis on 7 July.[1]

Talleyrand formally formed his government on 9 July, keeping for himself the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs. The cabinet was composed mainly of Doctrinaires, liberal royalists who formed a moderate group inside the Chamber of Deputies, opposed to the more radical Ultras.

However, after 2 months and 17 days, Tallayrand resigned for three reasons:

  • His refusal to sign the Second Treaty of Paris, considered too humiliating for France despite the conditions of peace negotiated during the Congress of Vienna.
  • The pressure exercised on Louis XVIII by Tsar Alexander I, who disliked the presence of many ex-Bonapartists in the new government, and called for the creation of a conservative government
  • The results of the August elections, that permitted the creation a parliamentary majority of Ultras (350 out of 400 seats), who were hostile to ex-Bonapartists Talleyrand and Minister Joseph Fouché, a regicide who was ousted from office in September 1815 and exiled.

Ministers

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Portfolio Holder Party
President of the Council of Ministers The Prince of Talleyrand Constitutional
Ministers
Minister of Foreign Affairs The Prince of Talleyrand Constitutional
Minister of the Interior and Justice The Baron Pasquier Constitutional
Minister of War Marshal Marquis of Saint-Cyr None
Minister of Finance The Baron Louis Constitutional
Minister of the Navy and Colonies The Count of Jaucourt Constitutional
Minister of Police Joseph Fouché[a] None

Notes

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  1. ^ Never attended his functions due to Ultras' opposition. Exiled on 12 January 1816 for his role in the regicide of Louis XVI.

References

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  1. ^ Emmanuel de Waresquiel; Benoît Yvert (2002). Histoire de la Restauration 1814-1830. Perrin. p. 143.

Sources

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