Victor de Broglie French statesman Date of Birth: 28.11.1785 Country: France

1. Early Life and Family
2. Early Career
3. Political Successes and Failures
4. Later Life and Legacy

Early Life and Family

Victor, duc de Broglie, was born in Paris on June 13, 1785, to Charles-Louis-Victor, Prince de Broglie, and Marie-Sophie-Pauline de Beauvau-Craon. His father was executed during the French Revolution, and his mother fled with her children to Switzerland. After the Reign of Terror ended, she returned to France and married the Marquis de Voyer d'Argenson.

Early Career

During the Napoleonic Empire, Broglie served in diplomatic posts in Warsaw and Vienna. After the First Restoration, he was appointed to the Chamber of Peers through Talleyrand's influence. He became known for his liberal views, opposing the condemnation of Ney and the exclusionary laws.

Political Successes and Failures

Broglie married Albertine de Staël in 1816. He remained a key figure in the Doctrinaire movement, aligned with Guizot. After the July Revolution of 1830, he was appointed Minister of the Interior by the Provisional Government and then Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Education by Louis-Philippe. He also served as President of the Council of State.

However, a more radical faction within the government eventually led Broglie and the Doctrinaires to resign. He held several ministerial positions in the 1830s, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Council of Ministers.

Later Life and Legacy

After the Revolution of 1848, Broglie temporarily withdrew from politics. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1849 and became a leader of the Right. He advocated for the revision of the constitution in order to restore the monarchy to the Orléans family. However, his plans were thwarted by the coup d'état of 1851.

Broglie retired from public life, joining the Académie Française in 1855. In 1863, he published "Écrits et discours" (3 volumes), a collection of his writings and speeches. Victor, duc de Broglie died in Paris on January 13, 1870, leaving behind a legacy as a prominent French statesman and a proponent of liberal conservatism.