Jean Orry

Jean Orry (born September 4, 1652 in Paris , France , † September 29, 1719 ibid) was a French economist who reformed the state administration in Spain under King Philip V.

Life

Orry first made a military career in France. King Louis XIV sent him to Spain in 1701, where Ludwig's grandson Philip of Anjou had taken over the throne as Philip V. The Habsburgs also claimed rights to Spain, which led to the War of the Spanish Succession . Orry was supposed to keep the French king informed of the financial situation in Spain. In detailed reports, Orry developed proposals for centralizing financial and state administration. He recommended that the previous councils (Spanish: Consejos ), in which the families of the local nobility had a decisive role, be disempowered and that government work be more centralized. Following the French model, "secretariats" (according to today's understanding: ministries) were supposed to enforce the interests of the crown.

Philip V entrusted Orry with the responsibility of Spain's military finances. He reorganized tax collection and ensured quick and efficient payment of wages and supplies for the Spanish troops. In 1705 the court set up a secretariat for war and finance, the country's first departmental ministry. Orry was a close confidante of Marie-Anne de La Trémoille , the regent's first lady-in-waiting, Queen Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy . In 1706 he was ordered back to Paris and returned to Spain in April 1713.

Here he continued his reform efforts. He filled the existing royal councils with confidants in order to secure majorities for his projects. Four more secretariats were created to report directly to him. Following the French model, he divided Spain into 21 provinces, each led by an intendente .

Before these reforms were fully implemented, the Queen died of tuberculosis at the age of just 24. Philip V married Elisabetta Farnese , who expelled Marie-Anne de La Trémoille, who had previously been very powerful, from the country when they first met. Giulio Alberoni became the new strong man . Orry was released in February 1715 and sent back to France. He died there in 1719.

Alberoni reversed most of Orry's reforms. The financial reforms, the disempowerment of the councils and the establishment of a central ministerial state administration continued.

literature

• Anne Dubet: Jean Orry et la réforme du gouvernement de l'Espagne (1701–1706) . Press Universitaire Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France 2009, ISBN 978-2-84516-367-6 ( Google Books ).

Web links

• Biography (spanish)
• Biography (spanish)
• Entry in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (English)