Molé, Louis-Mathieu, Comte

▪ French statesman

born Jan. 24, 1781, Paris

died Nov. 23, 1855, Champlâtreux, Fr.

      French monarchist statesman who held office under Napoleon I, Louis XVIII, and Louis-Philippe.

      The young Molé left France during the Revolution but returned in 1796. He gained Napoleon's approval after his publication of Essais de morale et de politique (1806), a justification of monarchical government; Napoleon made him auditor to the Council of State in 1806, with successive promotions to minister of justice in 1813. A peer of France during the Second Restoration (1815), Molé was minister for the navy (1817–18) but thereafter entered the opposition to the regime.

      After the July Revolution of 1830, Molé served Louis-Philippe as prime minister and minister of foreign affairs (1836–39). His ministry strengthened the French hold on Algeria, achieved a satisfactory solution of the Belgian question, and sought conciliation at home. The ministry, however, was attacked for being a mouthpiece of the King, and Molé resigned in 1839 (though he continued to serve in the Chamber of Deputies). When revolution broke out in 1848, Louis-Philippe again asked Molé to form a government (February 23), but to do so proved impracticable. He was a right-wing deputy in the Legislative Assembly in 1848–51, but after the coup d'etat of Dec. 2, 1851, he retired from public life.

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