Richelieu, Armand Emmanuel du Plessis, duc de
Richelieu, Armand Emmanuel du Plessis, duc de
(ärmäN` ĕmänüĕl` dü plĕsē` dük də rēshəlyö`), 1766–1822, French statesman. An émigré from the French Revolution, he served Russia as governor of Odessa (1803) and of the Crimea (1805). Made chief minister of France by King Louis XVIII after the Hundred DaysHundred Days,name given to the period after the return of the deposed French emperor, Napoleon I, from Elba. The Hundred Days are counted from Mar. 20, 1815, when Napoleon arrived in Paris, to June 28, 1815, when Louis XVIII was restored for the second time as king, following
..... Click the link for more information. (1815), he secured the quick payment by France of the indemnity imposed by the second Treaty of Paris (1815) and thus hastened the evacuation of occupation troops. In his domestic policy, Richelieu favored leniency toward the ex-revolutionists and Bonapartists, thus displeasing the ultraroyalists headed by the king's brother, the comte d'Artois (later King Charles X). In 1816 Richelieu persuaded the king to dissolve the extreme reactionary chamber of deputies (the so-called chambre introuvable) rather than submit to its program. Richelieu resigned in 1818, but returned to power in 1820, after the murder of the duc de Berry caused the fall of Élie DecazesDecazes, Élie
, 1780–1860, French statesman, a favorite of King Louis XVIII, who made him a duke in 1820. A lawyer and judge, Decazes was made minister of police in 1815 and was influential in the French government even before he became (1819) premier.
..... Click the link for more information. . His measures against the radicals were not sufficient to suit the ultraroyalists, who applied pressure on Louis XVIII and secured (1821) Richelieu's dismissal. With Richelieu's successor, the comte de Villèle, the ultraroyalists came into power.