Albert, 4th duc de Broglie

Jacques-Victor-Albert, 4th duc de Broglie (June 13, 1821–January 19, 1901), was a French monarchist politician.

The third child and eldest son of Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie, a notable liberal statesman of the July Monarchy, he was born in Paris. On June 18, 1845, he married Pauline de Galard de Brassac de Béarn (1825–1860) in Paris. Their children were:

• Louis-Alphonse-Victor, 5th duc de Broglie (1846–1906)
• Maurice (1848–1862)
• Henri-Amédée (1849–1917)
• François-Marie-Albert (1851–1939)
• César-Paul-Emmanuel (1854–1926)

He died in Paris on January 19, 1901.

Career

After a brief diplomatic career at Madrid and Rome, the revolution of 1848 caused Albert de Broglie to withdraw from public life and devote himself to literature. He had already published a translation of the religious system of Leibniz (1846). He now at once made his mark by his contributions to the Revue des deux mondes and the Orleanist and clerical organ Le Correspondant. These, and other contributions, brought him the succession to Lacordaire's seat in the Académie française in 1862, joining his father in this august society.

In 1870 he succeeded his father as duc de Broglie, having previously been known as the prince de Broglie. In the following year he was elected to the National Assembly for the départment of the Eure, and a few days later (on February 19) was appointed ambassador in London. In March 1872, however, in consequence of criticisms upon his negotiations concerning the commercial treaties between Britain and France, he resigned his post and took his seat in the Assembly, where he became the leading spirit of the monarchical campaign against President Thiers.

On the replacement of the latter by Marshal Mac-Mahon, the duc de Broglie became President of the Council and Minister for Foreign Affairs (May 1873), but in the reconstruction of the ministry on November 26, after the passing of the septennate, transferred himself to the ministry of the interior. His tenure of office was marked by an extreme conservatism, which roused the bitter hatred of the Republicans, while he alienated the Legitimist party by his friendly relations with the Bonapartists, and the Bonapartists by an attempt to effect a compromise between the rival claimants to the monarchy.

The result was the fall of the cabinet on May 16, 1874. Three years later (on May 16, 1877) he was entrusted with the formation of a new cabinet, with the object of appealing to the country and securing a new chamber more favorable to the reactionaries than its predecessor had been. The result, however, was a decisive Republican majority. The duc de Broglie was defeated in his own district, and resigned office on November 20. Not being re-elected in 1885, he abandoned politics and reverted to his historical work, publishing a series of historical studies and biographies.

Works

Besides editing the Souvenirs of his father (1886, etc.), the Mémoires of Talleyrand (1891, etc.), and the Letters of the Duchess Albertine de Broglie (1896), he published Le Secret du roi, Correspondance secrète de Louis XV avec ses agents diplomatiques, 1752–1774 (1878); Frédéric II et Marie Thérèse (1883); Frédéric II et Louis XV (1885); Marie Thérèse Impératrice (1888); Le Père Lacordaire (1889); Maurice de Saxe et le marquis d'Argenson (1891); La Paix d'Aix-la-Chapelle (1892); L'Alliance autrichienne (1895); La Mission de M. de Gontaut-Biron à Berlin (1896); Voltaire avant et pendant la Guerre de Sept Ans (1898); Saint Ambroise, translated by Margaret Maitland in the series of The Saints (1899).

Ministries

1st Ministry (25 May–26 November 1873)

• Duc de Broglie – President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
• François Claude du Barail – Minister of War
• Charles Beulé – Minister of the Interior
• Pierre Magne – Minister of Finance
• Jean Ernoul – Minister of Justice
• Charles Dompierre d'Hormoy – Minister of Marine and Colonies
• Anselme de Batbie – Minister of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Worship
• Alfred Deseilligny – Minister of Public Works
• Joseph de la Bouillerie – Minister of Agriculture and Commerce

2nd Ministry (26 November 1873–22 May 1874)

• Duc de Broglie – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior
• Louis Decazes – Minister of Foreign Affairs
• François Claude du Barail – Minister of War
• Pierre Magne – Minister of Finance
• Octave Depeyre – Minister of Justice
• Charles Dompierre d'Hormoy – Minister of Marine and Colonies
• Oscar Bardi de Fourtou – Minister of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Worship
• Charles de Larcy – Minister of Public Works
• Alfred Deseilligny – Minister of Agriculture and Commerce

3rd Ministry (17 May–23 November 1877)

• Duc de Broglie – President of the Council and Minister of Justice
• Louis Decazes – Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Jean Auguste Berthaud – Minister of War
• Oscar Bardi de Fourtou – Minister of the Interior
• Eugène Caillaux – Minister of Finance
• Albert Gicquel des Touches – Minister of Marine and Colonies
• Joseph Brunet – Minister of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Worship
• Auguste Pâris – Minister of Public Works
• Vicomte de Meaux – Minister of Agriculture and Commerce

External links

• Les Immortels: Albert de BROGLIE (in French)

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.