Benjamin Constant

French-Swiss politician, writer on politics and religion (1767-1830)

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Switzerland rank#125

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Fame57.9
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Switzerland rank#125
Academics rank#235
Wikipedia11.9K

Lived 1767–1830, aged 63Switzerland

Switzerland AcademicsAcademic

Wikipedia
47 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in Switzerland
#125
Academics
Era
1767–1830
Aged 63

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

The political theorist who kept switching sides during the French Revolution's chaos — backing coups, opposing Napoleon, then drafting his constitution during the Hundred Days — before spending a decade as the sharpest liberal voice in the Chamber of Deputies, arguing that liberty meant the state leaving people alone.

Biography

About

Born Swiss in 1767, Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque became a committed republican by 1795 and supported the coups of 1797 and 1799 that reshaped France. He led the Liberal opposition during the Consulate until he upset Napoleon and fled to Switzerland and Saxony, though he returned to draft the Charter of 1815 during the Hundred Days. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1818, he remained until his death in 1830, leading the Indépendants as one of the most notable parliamentary orators and refining the concept of liberty as freedom from state interference. He also moved in the Coppet circ…

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