Jean Debry | |
|---|---|
 Debry byJean-Louis Laneuvillec. 1793 | |
| 14th President of the National Convention | |
| In office 21 March – 4 April 1793 (1793-03-21 –1793-04-04) | |
| Preceded by | Armand Gensonné |
| Succeeded by | Jean-François-Bertrand Delmas |
| President of theCouncil of Five Hundred | |
| In office 21 December 1796 – 19 January 1797 (1796-12-21 –1797-01-19) | |
| In office 20 May – 18 June 1799 (1799-05-20 –1799-06-18) | |
| Deputy in theNational Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 8 September 1791 – 20 September 1792 (1791-09-08 –1792-09-20) | |
| Constituency | Aisne |
| Deputy in theNational Convention | |
| In office 4 September 1792 – 26 October 1795 (1792-09-04 –1795-10-26) | |
| Constituency | Aisne |
| Deputy in theCouncil of Five Hundred | |
| In office 15 October 1795 – 26 December 1799 (1795-10-15 –1799-12-26) | |
| Constituency | Aisne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1760-11-25)25 November 1760 |
| Died | 6 January 1834(1834-01-06) (aged 73) |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Party | The Plain |
| Awards |
|
Jean-Antoine-Joseph de Bry, also spelledDebry (French pronunciation:[ʒɑ̃n‿ɑ̃twanʒozɛfdəbʁi]; ( 25 November 1760 – 6 January 1834), was aFrench politician of theFrench Revolution. He served as President of theNational Convention (21 March 1793 – 4 April 1793), and is famous for thesloganLa patrie est en danger (The Fatherland is in danger) he proposed.[2]
Debry was born on 25 November 1760 inVervins, in the province ofPicardy. He became a lawyer at theParlement of Paris in January 1784, and was appointed administrator of the royal jurisdictions in Vervins in March 1786. In the following years, Debry published multiple writings supporting the ideas of theEnlightenment.[3]
With the Revolution he was appointed administrator of thedepartment ofAisne in June 1790. He was elected in September 1791 as deputy of theLegislative Assembly for Aisne. Debry was known as an ardent revolutionary, and in January 1792 successfully proposed a decree that altered theline of succession of the thenconstitutional French monarchy, by making Louis Stanislas (who eventually reigned asLouis XVIII on theRestoration) ineligible to the French throne due to hisemigration from France.[3]
Debry was again elected in September 1792, as a representative of Aisne in the newNational Convention. In the following year he voted for the death sentence of KingLouis XVI, defended more severe punishments againstemigrés, and proposed the transport ofRousseau's remains to thePanthéon in Paris, which was achieved in October 1794. Debry protested against the arrest of theGirondins following the31 May insurrection, but then kept a low profile until thefall of Robespierre and the end of theReign of Terror.[3]
He served in theCouncil of Five Hundred for the entire duration of theDirectory regime and as its president between December 1796 and January 1797,[4] seating with theThermidorians as a dedicated supporter of theRepublic.[3]
In 1798, Debry was chosen as one of the three delegates of the French Republic sent to theCongress of Rastatt, with the intention of negotiating a peace treaty with theHoly Roman Empire. When leaving Rastatt on 28 April 1799, the three were assaulted by a group ofhussars. The other French envoys, Roberjot andBonnier, were killed on the spot, while Debry received thirteensabre wounds but survived, having managed to escape and hurriedly seek asylum with aPrussian government official.[3]
Using an arm sling, Debry was acclaimed on his return to the Council of Five Hundred on 20 May 1799,[4] and on the same day was elected for another term as its president.[3]
A supporter ofNapoleon Bonaparte in his coup of18 Brumaire, Debry became a member of theTribunat in December 1799 following its creation by theConstitution of the Year VIII. From then on he held local administration offices, being appointed in April 1801préfet of the department ofDoubs, remaining in office until theFirst Bourbon Restoration in 1814. He was awarded theLegion of Honour in 1803, and was made Knight (1808) and later Baron of theEmpire (1809).[3]
Despite a friendly approach towards the restored Bourbons, Debry acceptedNapoleon's appointment to the prefecture ofBas-Rhin during theHundred Days, on 22 March 1815. Following the emperor's second abdication he was dismissed from office, and in January 1816 forced to leave the country by a law that exiled theregicides of Louis XVI. He retired toMons, in theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands. Debry was only allowed to return with the definitivefall of the Bourbons in 1830, and as a former prefect was granted a pension by the new government ofLouis Philippe of France.[3] He died in Paris on 6 January 1834.
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