Hugues-Bernard Maret | |
|---|---|
%2c_duc_de_Bassano.jpg) Portrait byRobert Lefèvre, 1807 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 17 April 1811 – 19 November 1813[1] | |
| Monarch | Napoleon |
| Preceded by | Jean-Baptiste de Nompère de Champagny |
| Succeeded by | Armand de Caulaincourt |
| Prime Minister of France | |
| In office 10 November 1834 – 18 November 1834[2] | |
| Monarch | Louis Philippe I |
| Preceded by | Étienne Maurice Gérard |
| Succeeded by | Édouard Mortier |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1763-05-01)1 May 1763 |
| Died | 13 May 1839(1839-05-13) (aged 76) Paris |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Awards | Grand Eagle of theLegion of Honour Grand Cross of theHouse Order of Fidelity Grand Cross of theOrder of Saint Hubert Grand Cross of theOrder of the Crown of Saxony Order of the Lion and the Sun[1] |
| Signature |  |
Hugues-Bernard Maret (French:[yɡbɛʁnaʁmaʁɛ]; 1 May 1763 – 13 May 1839), 1stDuke of Bassano (Duc de Bassano), was a French statesman, diplomat and journalist.
Maret was born inDijon, in the province ofBurgundy, as the second son of a physician and scholar at theAcademy of Dijon. Destined for a medical career by his father, he instead decided to study law,[3] and after receiving a solid education Maret entered the legal profession, becoming a lawyer at theKing's Council in Paris. The ideas of theFrench Revolution profoundly influenced him, wholly altering his career.[4]
The interest aroused by the debates of the firstNational Assembly suggested to him the idea of publishing them in theBulletin de l'Assemblée. The journalistCharles-Joseph Panckoucke (1736–1798), owner of theMercure de France and publisher of the famousEncyclopédie (1785), persuaded him to merge this in a larger paper,Le Moniteur Universel, which gained a wide repute for correctness and impartiality.[4]
He was a member of the moderate club, theFeuillants, but, with the overthrow of the monarchy and theinsurrection of 10 August 1792 he accepted a post in theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, where he sometimes exercised a steadying influence. On the withdrawal of the Britishlegation, Citizen Maret (as he was then known) went on a mission to London, where he had a favourable interview withWilliam Pitt the Younger on 22 December 1792 – all hope of an accommodation was, however, in vain. After the execution ofBourbon KingLouis XVI (21 January 1793), the chief French diplomatic agent,Bernard-François de Chauvelin, was ordered to leave Britain, while theNational Convention declared war (1 February 1793 –seeCampaigns of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars). These events limited the impact of Maret's second mission to London in January 1794.[4]
After a space in which he held no diplomatic post, he became Ambassador of theFrench Republic to theKingdom of Naples; but, while negotiating withCharles de Sémonville he was captured by theAustrian Empire and was kept for some thirty months, until, at the close of 1795, the two were set free in return for the liberation ofPrincess Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, the daughter of ex-King Louis XVI.
For a time Maret returned to journalism, but he played a useful part in the negotiations for a peace with Britain which went on atLille during the summer of 1797, until the victory of theJacobin Club in Paris in thecoup d'état of 18 Fructidor (September 1797) frustrated the hopes of Pitt for peace and inflicted on Maret another reverse of fortune.[4]
OnNapoleon'sreturn from Egypt in 1799, Maret joined the general's party which came to power with the18 Brumaire coup (9 November–10).[4]
Maret now became one of Napoleon's secretaries and shortly afterwards Secretary of State. An experienced politician, he rendered services of major value to theFrench Consulate andFirst French Empire.
TheMoniteur, which became the official State Journal in 1800, was placed under his control. He sometimes succeeded in toning down the hard, abrupt language of Napoleon's communications, and in every way proved a useful intermediary. It is known that he had a share in the drawing up of the new constitutions for theBatavian andItalian Republics.[4]
In 1804, he became Minister; in 1807, he was createdCount; and in 1809, he was granted the title ofDuc de Bassano, one of the titles with the status ofduché grand-fief in Napoleon'sKingdom of Italy. This was a rare hereditary honor (extinct in 1906), which gives an insight into how well respected his work was by the Emperor.
He was extremely devoted to Napoleon, as shown by his work to pass into law the artifices adopted by the latter in April–May 1808 in order to make himself master of the destinies of Spain (seePeninsular War). Maret also assisted in drawing up theSpanish Constitution of 1808, which was rejected by almost all Spanish subjects. He accompanied Napoleon through most of his campaigns, including that of 1809 against theFifth Coalition, and he expressed himself in favour of the marriage alliance with theArchduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, which took place in 1810.[4]
In the spring of 1811, the Duc de Bassano replacedJean-Baptiste de Champagny, asMinister of Foreign Affairs. In this capacity he showed his usual ability and devotion, concluding the treatiesbetween France and Austria andbetween France and Prussia, which preceded the Frenchinvasion of Russia in 1812. He was with Napoleon through the greater part of that campaign, and after the major defeat, helped to prepare the new forces with which Napoleon waged the equally unsuccessful campaign of 1813 against theSixth Coalition.[4]
In November 1813 Napoleon replaced Maret withArmand, Marquis of Caulaincourt, who was known to be devoted to the cause of peace and had a personal connection toTsarAlexander I of Russia. Maret, however, as private secretary of Napoleon, remained with him through thecampaign of 1814, as well as duringthat of 1815 and theHundred Days.[4]
After therestoration of the Bourbons, Maret was exiled. He retired toGraz, where he occupied himself with literary work. In 1820 he was allowed to return to France. After theJuly Revolution of 1830, the newkingLouis Philippe elevated him as aPeer of France. In November 1834 Maret served a short time as Prime Minister of France.[4]
The Duc de Bassano died at Paris in 1839.[2]
the Duc de Bassano, was made a peer by Louis Philippe and became prime minister of France for eight days in November 1834; he died in Paris in 1839.
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Rose, John Holland (1911). "Maret, Hugues-Bernard".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). p. 700.| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of France 1834 | Succeeded by |
| French nobility | ||
| Preceded by New creation | Duke of Bassano 1809–1839 | Succeeded by Napoléon Hugues Maret de Bassano |
French Consulate (10 November 1799 – 18 May 1804) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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First cabinet of Napoleon (18 May 1804 to 1 April 1814) | ||
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Head of state:Napoleon | ||
| Secretary of State |  Napoleon | |
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Preceded byFrench Consulate • Followed byFrench provisional government of 1814 | ||
French government of the Hundred Days (20 March 1815 to 22 June 1815) | ||
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Head of state:Napoleon | ||
| Foreign Affairs |  Napoleon | |
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Preceded byGovernment of the first Bourbon restoration • Followed byFrench Provisional Government of 1815 | ||
Cabinet of Hugues-Bernard Maret (10 November 1834 to 18 November 1834) | ||
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Head of state: KingLouis Philippe I | ||
| President of the council | ||
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| Justice and Religious Affairs | ||
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