Hugues-Bernard Maret

Hugues-Bernard Maret

Tomb of the Duke and Duchess of Bassano, Paris

Hugues-Bernard Maret , duc de Bassano (born May 1, 1763 in Dijon , † May 13, 1839 in Paris ) was a French statesman and publicist .

Life

Ancien Régime, Revolution and Republic

After a solid education, Maret became a lawyer at the Conseil du Roi in Paris. The ideas of the French Revolution left deep impressions on him and completely changed his career. The interest that arose in the debates of the first National Assembly led him to publish them together with Méjean in the Bulletin de l'Assemblé . The publicist Charles-Joseph Panckoucke (1736–1798), owner of the Mercure de France and editor of the Encyclopédie méthodique convinced him to merge this paper with a larger magazine, the Moniteur universel , which made a name for itself through its correctness and impartiality. He was a member of the moderate club, the Feuillants ; but after the overthrow of the monarchy on August 10, 1792, he took an office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which he sometimes exercised a balancing influence. When the British embassy was recalled from Paris, Maret went on a mission to London , where he had a favorable conversation with Pitt on December 2, 1792 . However, any hope of an agreement was in vain. After the execution of Louis XVI. (January 21, 1793) the French chief diplomat Chauvelin was recalled from England while the Convention declared war (February 1, 1793). The course of events meant that Maret's second mission in January was doomed to failure.

After a break in which he held no diplomatic position, he became ambassador of the French Republic in Naples ; while he was going there with de Smonville, he was captured by the Austrians and held by them for about thirty months, until the two in exchange with the daughter of Louis XVI at the end of 1795 . were released. During his imprisonment he came into contact with Franz von Spaun . For a time, Maret switched to journalism; but he played a useful role in the peace negotiations with Great Britain that took place in Lille in the summer of 1797. The Jacobin success in the Fructidor coup d'état (September 1797) dashed Pitt's hopes for peace and brought Maret another setback. When Bonaparte returned from Egypt in 1799, he joined the general's party, which came to power with the coup d'état of 18th Brumaire VIII (9/10 November 1799).

Consulate and Empire

Maret now became one of the secretaries of the First Consul and shortly afterwards State Secretary. In this position his temperance, diligence and understanding, his knowledge of people and things made him of great value. The Moniteur , which became the official journal of the state in 1800, was placed under his control. Sometimes he succeeded in dampening the harsh, abrupt language of Napoleon's communications; in every way he turned out to be a useful mediator. He is known to have been involved in drafting new constitutions for the Batavian and Italian republics. In 1804 he became a minister; In 1807 he was made Count, and in 1809 he was given the title Duke of Bassano , an honor with which Napoleon expressed his respect for Maret's tireless work, particularly in relation to the diplomatic negotiation and treaties at the time. His personal devotion to the emperor was of the steadfast kind Napoleon valued it. You can see them, for example, in his attempts to defend the emperor's ruse in April / May 1808, with which he tried to take the fate of the Spaniards in hand. Maret helped draft the constitution intended for Spain, which the Spaniards immediately rejected.

Maret accompanied Napoleon on most of his campaigns, including the 1809 campaign; In the end he spoke out in favor of the marriage alliance with Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, which took place in 1810. In the spring of 1811, the Duke of Bassano replaced Champagny as Foreign Minister. In this role he concluded the treaties between France and Austria and between France and Prussia that preceded the French invasion of Russia in 1812. During the greater part of the campaign he was with Napoleon; after its disastrous end, he helped prepare the new troops with which Napoleon undertook the similarly devastating campaign of 1813. But in November 1813, Napoleon replaced him with Caulaincourt , who he thought was more suitable for a peace treaty and that he was personally grateful to Tsar Alexander I of Russia. Maret, on the other hand, remained with his master as private secretary during the campaign of 1814, and also during that of 1815.

restoration

After the second restoration of the Bourbons, he was exiled and retired to Gorizia , where he dealt with literary work. In 1820 he was allowed to return to France, and after the revolution of 1830 Louis-Philippe made him peer; for a few days he also held two high offices.

Hugues-Bernard Maret died in Paris in 1839 at the age of 76 and rests there in the Père Lachaise cemetery.

evaluation

Maret shares with Daru the honor of having been the hardest worker and most devoted supporter in Napoleon's service; however, the general view is that he has developed his devotion to the point of submission and therefore often compromised the real interests of France.

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord said of him: "There is only one person who is more stupid than M. Maret, that is the Duke of Bassano."

Web links

Commons : Hugues-Bernard Maret  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Short biography and list of works of the Académie française (French)

predecessor	Office	successor
Jean-Baptiste Nompère de Champagny	Foreign Minister of France April 17, 1811 - November 20, 1813	Armand de Caulaincourt