First ministry of Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis de Richelieu
# First ministry of Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis de Richelieu

The First ministry of Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis de Richelieu was formed on 26 September 1815 after the dismissal of the Ministry of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord by King Louis XVIII of France. It was dissolved on 29 December 1818 and replaced by the Ministry of Jean-Joseph Dessolles.

## Formation and actions

After the resignation of Talleyrand, Louis XVIII designated the technocrat Duke of Richelieu to form a cabinet. The minister of the Richelieu ministry were Ultras and counter-revolutionaries hostile to Bonapartism and republicanism, and in the first phase of the ministry they actualized the legal terror called "Second White Terror", that caused the exile, the imprisonment or the execution of several revolutionaries.

After the election held in 1816, the new Parliament, led by a Doctrinaire majority, forced the resignation of several ministers, replaced with Doctrinaires and moderates. The reformed cabinet realised several important laws, like the "Saint-Cyr Law" (abolition of the nobility's privilege in the army) and the "Lainé Law" (expansion of the suffrage and direct votation). However, after the partial-election of 1817, a new Liberal leftist group was formed in the Chamber of Deputies, composed by radicals like General Maximilien Foy and Abbot Henri Grégoire. There was also a rising rivality between Richelieu and his Minister Élie Decazes, a popular Doctrinaire. Finally, at the end of December 1818, Richelieu resigned after he lost the favour of the Ultras and the support of the Doctrinaires.

## Ministers

| Portfolio | Holder | Party |
| - | - | - |
| President of the Council of Ministers | The Duke of Richelieu | None |
| Ministers ||||
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | The Duke of Richelieu | None |
| Minister of the Interior | The Count of Vaublanc | Ultras |
| Minister of Justice | The Marquis Barbé-Marbois | None |
| Minister of War | Marshal Henri Clarke | None |
| Minister of Finance | Louis-Emmanuel Corvetto | None |
| Minister of the Navy and Colonies | The Viscount Dubouchage | None |
| Minister of Police | Élie Decazes | Constitutional |

## Changes

On 7 May 1816:

| Portfolio | Holder | Holder | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| Minister of the Interior | | Joseph Lainé | Constitutional |
| Minister of Justice | | Charles Dambray | None |

On 19 January 1817:

| Portfolio | Holder | Holder | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| Minister of Justice | | The Baron Pasquier | Constitutional |

On 23 June 1817:

| Portfolio | Holder | Holder | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| Minister of the Navy and Colonies | | Marshal Marquis of Saint-Cyr | None |

On 12 September 1817:

| Portfolio | Holder | Holder | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| Minister of War | | Marshal Marquis of Saint-Cyr | None |
| Minister of the Navy and Colonies | | Louis-Mathieu Molé | Constitutional |

On 7 December 1818:

| Portfolio | Holder | Holder | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| Minister of Finance | | Antoine Roy | Constitutional |
