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Joseph Fouché

French statesman (1759-1820) · France · Politicians · Died at 61

Joseph Fouché is read about 713 times a day, in 49 languages.

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The man who survived every French regime by mastering surveillance and switching sides at exactly the right moment - revolutionary terrorist in Lyon, Napoleon's police chief, then the president who replaced him.

PoliticiansPoliticianPoliticsLawFranceEuropeEarly Modern Era

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Photos 8

Fouché Joseph Duke of OtrantoFouché Joseph Duke of OtrantoArrêté des représentants en mission ordonnant la poursuite de l'activité des comités révolutionnaires, 13 décembre 1793Arrêté des représentants en mission ordonnant la poursuite de l'activité des comités révolutionnaires, 13 décembre 1793Auguste Jacques Régnier Habitation de Fouché de NantesAuguste Jacques Régnier Habitation de Fouché de NantesConst history of France (1890, p 143)Const history of France (1890, p 143)Eymar - Joseph Fouché, duc d'Otrante, né le 29 mai 1763 à NantesEymar - Joseph Fouché, duc d'Otrante, né le 29 mai 1763 à NantesJoseph Fouché duc d'OtranteJoseph Fouché duc d'OtranteFerrières-en-Brie, Cimetière, Enclos de la famille Fouché 1Ferrières-en-Brie, Cimetière, Enclos de la famille Fouché 1

In their own words 3

,
Joseph Fouché
,
3 statements, newest first

  1. Death is an eternal sleep.

    1794, Inscription placed by his orders on the Gates of the Cemeteries in 1794; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)., Own words

  2. Terror, salutary terror, is here in truth the order of the day; it represses all the efforts of the wicked ; it divests crime of all covering and tinsel!

    Dec 1793, In a letter to the Committee of Public Safety while Representative on Mission in the City of Lyon, December 1793; reported in The Court and, Own words

  3. It is more than a crime; it is a political fault," - words which I record, because they have been repeated and attributed to others.

    Memoirs of Fouché. Commonly quoted, "It is worse than a crime, - it is a blunder", and attributed to Talleyrand; reported in Bartlett's, Own words

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Awards

Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour

Family

Joseph Fouché

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About this person

Joseph Fouché was born 21 May 1759 into a world he would help destroy and rebuild twice over. In 1793 he earned his reputation for ruthlessness by crushing the Lyon insurrection with systematic ferocity during the Revolution's bloodiest phase. That calculated brutality became competence: he served as Minister of Police under the Directory, then under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, then under Emperor Napoleon, building the era's most effective surveillance apparatus. When Napoleon fell in 1815, Fouché pivoted one last time and served as President of the Executive Commission, the provisional government installed in the emperor's place. He died 26 December 1820, having outlasted the tyrants by becoming indispensable to all of them.

Country
France
Category
Politicians
Type
Politician
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1759 to 1820 · aged 61

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