Jean Joseph Dessolles | |
|---|---|
 Engraving of Dessolles byYan' Dargent (1889) | |
| Prime Minister of France | |
| In office 29 December 1818 – 19 November 1819 | |
| Monarch | Louis XVIII |
| Preceded by | Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis de Richelieu |
| Succeeded by | Élie Decazes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1767-07-03)3 July 1767 |
| Died | 3 November 1828(1828-11-03) (aged 61) Saulx-les-Chartreux,Essonne, France |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Political party | Doctrinaires |
| Profession | Military officer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  First French Republic First French Empire Bourbon Restoration |
| Branch/service | French Revolutionary Army Grande Armée National Guard |
| Years of service | 1792–1814 |
| Rank | Adjutant general Brigadier general Divisional general Commander-in-chief |
| Battles/wars | |
Jean Joseph Dessolles, 1stMarquis Dessolles (bornJean Joseph Paul Augustin Dessolles; 3 July 1767 – 3 November 1828) was a French soldier andstatesman. He was thePrime Minister of France from 29 December 1818 to 18 November 1819.
Born in Auch, in 1767, he was educated under the direction of his uncle,Irénée-Yves de Solle, who was the Bishop ofDigne and laterChambéry.
Having entered into military service in 1792, he became anAdjutant-General under the command ofNapoléon Bonaparte during the Italian campaign of theWar of the First Coalition. He soon rose to the rank ofBrigadier-General on 31 May 1797.
During theWar of the Second Coalition, he served asChief of Staff toJean Victor Marie Moreau in the Italian theatre, where he distinguished himself at Noir in 1799. He defeated the Austrians in theValtellina in 1800, where under his command, French forces killed 1,200, captured 4,000 men, and eighteen pieces of cannon.
He assisted at theBattle of Novi, at the Battles of Sainte-Marie (where he was namedMajor-General on 13 April 1799, and also atLodi, where he was honoured with the nickname 'Decius français' (FrenchDecius). He contributed to the Frenchvictory of Hohenlinden in 1801, and remained in service up to thePeace of Lunéville.
He was named a State Councillor (Conseiller d'État) in ordinary service, attached to the War section, on30 Frimaire of the year X. In the Year XII, he entered into extraordinary service, and remained a member of the Council of Administration of War (Conseil d'Administration de la Guerre) until 1805.
On 12 Pluviôse of the year XIII, he was named Governor of thePalace of Versailles, and Grand Officer of theLegion of Honour in 1805. He received the provisional command of the Army of Hanover, until he was replaced byBernadotte. He was then on standby until 1808.
He was disgraced in 1806 for having held hostile intentions against theEmperor, and was taken off the Council List (Liste du Conseil) on 2 February 1806. Napoléon wrote toFouché on the subject:
Je vous dirais que le général Desolles a tenu en confidence des propos fort extraordinaires qui montreraient l'existence d'une petite clique aussi envenimée que lâche. (I would like to say to you that the general Desolles has taken into confidence very extraordinary intentions which would show the existence of a little clique as poisoned as it is cowardly.) -Correspondence, XI, n° 9088
He thereafter retired to a property that he owned near Auch, theChartreuse du Pastisse atPreignan.
Eventually winning back imperial favour, he did not return to the State Council (Conseil d'État), and from 1808 to 1810 he commanded a division in Spain, during thePeninsular War.
Prior to theBattle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809),King Joseph left Madrid 23 July, at the head of some 5,800 troops, to meet up withVictor's 23,000 troops, andSebastiani's 17,500, to take the offensive againstCuesta atTorrijos, rather than letting him advance on Madrid.[1] Left behind was only one brigade of Dessolles's division, with a few Spanish levies, with whichAugustin Daniel Belliard, the governor of the city, was expected to hold the capital; some 4,000 men, in all. Belliard had to be prepared to retreat into theCitadel of Madrid, in the Retiro, with his troops and the whole body of theAfrancesados and their families, if there was an insurrection, or ifVenegas managed to reach the city from the east, or possiblyWilson, whose column was atEscalona (Toledo), just thirty-eight miles from Madrid,[1] with a force that was believed to be much larger than it actually was.[note 1]
Dessolles later distinguished himself at theBattle of Ocaña, at the Passage of Sierra Morena, and at Despena-Perros. He also capturedCordoba, where he governed in a manner "to reconcile hearts".
He returned to France in February 1811, and remained until March 1812, when he was named Chief of Staff toEugène de Beauharnais. In 1812, upon arrival inSmolensk, his health obligated him to return to Paris.
On the first restoration ofLouis XVIII, in 1814, the provisional government named him Commander-in-Chief of theNational Guard and all troops of the 1st Division; theComte d'Artois named him a member of the Provisional State Council (Conseil d'État provisoire); and the King named him Minister of State, aPeer of France, Major-General of all the National Guards of the Kingdom, Commander ofSaint-Louis, andGrand Cordon of the Legion of Honour. These favours were rewards for his efforts convincingEmperor Alexander I of Russia to reject the proposedHabsburg-Bonaparteregency ofEmpress Marie-Louise, and instead supporting the restoration of the FrenchBourbons.
He was opposed to the return of Napoléon during theHundred Days, and pronounced himself in favour of the Bourbons in 1814.
Under theSecond Restoration, he pursued a political career. He was appointedMinister of Foreign Affairs andPresident of the Council (Prime Minister) with the formation of a liberal ministry in December 1818. In November 1819, he retired, disgusted by the demands of the reactionaries. He received public recognition as 'Ministre Honnête Homme' (Gentleman Minister), and was thereafter a supporter of civil liberties.
He died in November 1828,[2] at the Chateau de Monthuchet atSaulx-les-Chartreux (Essonne). He was buried at thePère-Lachaise Cemetery (28th division).
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From his marriage with Anne Émilie (1777-1852), daughter of GeneralAuguste Marie Henri Picot de Dampierre, he had one daughter, Hélène-Charlotte-Pauline (17 July 1805 – 10 July 1864), who marriedAlexander Jules de La Rochefoucauld (1796-1856), Duc d'Etissac. He has two grandsons : Roger, duc d’Estissac and Arthur, Comte de La Rochefoucauld (issues thePrince de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel (Dominique and his son Gabriel)). His grand daughter Thérèse married her cousin prince Marcantonio Borghese.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of France 1818–1819 | Succeeded by |
| French nobility | ||
| Preceded by Title created | Marquis Desolles 1814 – 1828 | Succeeded by Forfeit |
Ministry of Jean-Joseph Dessolles (29 December 1818 to 19 November 1819) | ||
|---|---|---|
Head of State: KingLouis XVIII | ||
| President of the council and Foreign Affairs | Dessolles | |
| Interior | ||
| Justice | ||
| War | ||
| Finance | ||
| Navy and Colonies | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
