François-René de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768-4 July 1848) a French politician who served as Foreign Minister of France from 28 December 1822 to 4 August 1824, succeeding Mathieu de Montmorency and preceding Hyacinthe Maxence de Damas. Chateaubriand was not only known for being a staunch royalist and devout Catholic; he was also a well-known diplomat, writer, and historian, and he was the founder of Romanticism in French literature. He was a key figure in the Bourbon Restoration government of King Louis XVIII of France and King Charles X of France, and he fell from power with the Bourbon dynasty in the July Revolution of 1830.
Biography[]
François-René de Chateaubriand was born in Saint-Malo, Brittany, France on 4 September 1768. He rose to the rank of captain in the French Army and was initially sympathetic to the French Revolution, but he left for North America in 1791 after the revolution took a radical turn. He returned to France in 1792 and joined Louis Joseph, Prince of Conde's royalist emigre army during the French Revolutionary Wars, being injured at Thionville. He proceeded to go into exile in London, England, living in poverty for years. In May 1800, after the French Consulate granted amnesty to all emigres, Chateaubriand returned to France.
Napoleonic era and Bourbon Restoration[]
Chateaubriand during the 1800s
Chateaubriand became a diplomat under the First French Empire, but he resigned in 1804 after the execution of King Louis XVI of France's cousin, Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien, and he again went travelling. He became a severe critic of Napoleon I, and he rallied to the Bourbons after the Bourbon Restoration in 1814. In 1815, he became a Peer of France and State Minister, and he voted for Michel Ney's execution. He sided with the Ultra-Royalists supporting the future King Charles X of France, only to later side more with the liberal opposition by supporting freedom of the press and assistance to the Greeks during their struggle for independence. From 1822 to 1824, he served as Foreign Minister, and he held several ambassadorial posts under King Louis XVIII of France and King Charles X.
Fall from grace[]
Following the July Revolution, he refused to swear allegiance to King Louis Philippe I, ending his political career. In 1831, he led the Legitimists during the parliamentary election, winning 104/460 Chamber of Deputies seats. He lived a reclusive life in his final years, and he died in Paris during the French Revolution of 1848.