Élie Lacoste | |
|---|---|
| 45th President of the National Convention | |
| In office 5–20 May 1794 (1794-05-05 –1794-05-20) | |
| Preceded by | Maximilien Robespierre |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Antoine Louis |
| Deputy of theNational Convention | |
| In office 20 September 1792 – 26 October 1795 (1792-09-20 –1795-10-26) | |
| Constituency | Dordogne |
| Deputy of theLegislative Assembly | |
| In office 1 September 1791 – 20 September 1792 | |
| Constituency | Dordogne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1745-09-18)September 18, 1745 |
| Died | November 26, 1806(1806-11-26) (aged 61) Montignac,French Empire |
| Political party | The Mountain |
| Profession | Doctor |
| Signature |  |
Élie Lacoste (18 September 1745 – 26 November 1806) was a French doctor and politician of theFrench Revolution. Born and died inMontignac, he served as a deputy to theLegislative Assembly and theNational Convention.
A doctor in Montignac, like his father and great-grandfather, Lacoste was a supporter of revolutionary ideas. After killing a nobleman fromPérigord in a duel, he became an administrator of theDordogne department in 1789.
Following the adoption of theFrench Constitution of 1791, France became aconstitutional monarchy. In 1791, Lacoste was elected to theLegislative Assembly as the sixth of ten deputies for the Dordogne department.[1]He sat with the political left. In February 1792, he voted for the indictment of the Minister of the Navy,Antoine François Bertrand de Molleville.[2] In April, he voted to grant the honors of the session to the soldiers of theChâteauvieux Regiment [fr] for their role in theNancy affair.[3] In August, he voted for the indictment of theMarquis de Lafayette.[4]
The monarchy was abolished following theinsurrection of 10 August 1792, andLouis XVI was imprisoned. Lacoste was re-elected as a deputy for Dordogne, the third of ten, to the newNational Convention.
He sat withThe Mountain. During thetrial of Louis XVI, he voted for the death penalty and against both the popular referendum and the stay of execution.[5] In April 1793, he was absent for the vote on the indictment ofJean-Paul Marat.[6] In May, he was also absent for the vote to reinstate theCommission of Twelve.[7]
On 8 March 1793, Lacoste was first sent as arepresentative on mission, alongsideJean-Baptiste Bô [fr], to the Droits-de-l'Homme section of Paris.[8] The following day, he andJean-Bon Saint-André were dispatched to the departments of Dordogne andLot to accelerate thelevée en masse decreed in February.[9] In July, he was sent on a mission to the departments ofAisne,Ardennes,Oise,Nord,Seine-Inférieure, andSomme.
Elected to theCommittee of General Security in September 1793, he was responsible for significant police and administrative work. However, he refused to take charge of the food supply forParis, declaring himself incompetent for the task.
On 3 November 1793 (13 Brumaire, Year II), he was sent on a mission to theArmy of the Rhine and theArmy of the Moselle withJean-François Ehrmann [fr],Marc-Antoine Baudot, andAntoine Lémane [fr].[10] He took part in theBattle of Kaiserslautern.[11] He came into conflict withLouis Antoine de Saint-Just andPhilippe-François-Joseph Le Bas, who arrived after him. Lacoste had appointedLazare Hoche as commander-in-chief of the two combined armies, while Saint-Just and Le Bas preferredJean-Charles Pichegru. Lacoste returned to Paris with Baudot on 14 January 1794 (25 Nivôse, Year II) before returning to the armies. On 27 January (8 Pluviôse), the two men issued a decree inStrasbourg requisitioning 30,000 pairs of shoes and 3,000 coats from the population to supply the troops.
During theThermidorian Reaction on9 Thermidor, Year II (27 July 1794), Lacoste spoke out againstMaximilien Robespierre in the Convention and demanded the arrests ofGeorges Couthon andLouis Antoine de Saint-Just, though he did not accuse members of theParis Commune.
After defending former members of the government committees, he was himself placed under arrest on 20 May 1795 (1 Prairial, Year III). He was released under the general amnesty of 26 October 1795 (4 Brumaire, Year IV). His political career over, Lacoste returned to Montignac and resumed his work as a doctor.
