Joseph Fouché
French statesman, revolutionary and police chief (1763–1820)
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Key Takeaways
- Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché ( French: [ʒozɛf fuʃe] ; 21 May 1759 – 26 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte.
- He was particularly known for the ferocity with which he suppressed the Lyon insurrection during the Revolution in 1793 and for being a highly competent minister of police under the Directory, the Consulate, and the Empire.
- In English texts, his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.
- His mother was Marie Françoise Croizet (1720–1793), and his father was Julien Joseph Fouché (1719–1771).
- Wanting to become a teacher, he was sent to an institution kept by brethren of the same order in Paris.
Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché (French: [ʒozɛf fuʃe]; 21 May 1759 – 26 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte. Fouché later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. He was particularly known for the ferocity with which he suppressed the Lyon insurrection during the Revolution in 1793 and for being a highly competent minister of police under the Directory, the Consulate, and the Empire. In 1815, he served as President of the Executive Commission, which was the provisional government of France installed after the abdication of Napoleon. In English texts, his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.
Youth
Fouché was born in Le Pellerin, a small village near Nantes. His mother was Marie Françoise Croizet (1720–1793), and his father was Julien Joseph Fouché (1719–1771). He was educated at the college of the Oratorians at Nantes, and showed aptitude for literary and scientific studies. Wanting to become a teacher, he was sent to an institution kept by brethren of the same order in Paris. There he made rapid progress, and was soon appointed to tutorial duties at the colleges of Niort, Saumur, Vendôme, Juilly and Arras. There he was initiated into Freemasonry at "Sophie Madeleine" lodge in 1788. At Arras he had had some encounters with Maximilien Robespierre (and his sister Charlotte) both before the revolution and in the early days of the French Revolution (1789).
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