Biography of MERLIN, Philippe-Antoine - Archontology
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MERLIN, Philippe-Antoine

Philippe-Antoine Merlin, dit Merlin de Douai

b. 30 Oct 1754, Arleux, Nord
d. 26 Dec 1838, Paris

Title: Président du Directoire exécutif de la République française (President of the Executive Directory of the French Republic)
Term: 25 Feb 1798 - 26 May 1798
Chronology: 25 Feb 1798, installed as President, meeting of the Executive Directory, Palais du Luxembourg, Paris [1]
26 May 1798, expiration of term, successor installed [1], [2]
Term: 26 May 1799 - 18 Jun 1799
Chronology: 26 May 1799, installed as President, meeting of the Executive Directory, Palais du Luxembourg, Paris [3]
18 Jun 1799, letter of resignation as a member of the Directory (dated 18 Jun 1799) presented to the Council of Five Hundred and to the Council of Ancients; formal acceptance given by the Council of Five Hundred [4]
Names/titles: Chevalier de l'Empire [from 3 Jun 1808]; comte Merlin, comte de l'Empire (count Merlin, count of the Empire) [from 14 Apr 1810]
Président de l'Assemblée nationale (President of the National Assembly) (9 Oct 1790 - 25 Oct 1790) [see details]; Président de la Convention nationale (President of the National Convention) (3 Aug 1794 - 18 Aug 1794) [see details]; Membre du Directoire exécutif de la République française (Member of the Executive Directory of the French Republic) (10 Sep 1797 - 18 Jun 1799) [see details]
Biography:


Son of a prosperous land owner; received primary education in the abbey of Anchin; studied at the Collège of Douai; admitted to the bar in the Parlement of Flanders (1775); elected (4 Apr 1789) as a representative of the Third Estate by the bailliage of Douai to the États-Généraux (Estates-General); deputy of the Assemblée nationale (National Assembly) (1789-1791); proved himself as a brilliant speaker and active lawmaker; President of the National Assembly (9 Oct 1790 - 25 Oct 1790); president of the criminal tribunal of the département of Nord (1791-1792); elected (18 Sep 1792) to the Convention nationale (National Convention), representing Nord (1792-1795); voted for the death sentence in the trial of King Louis XVI; in the rank of commissioner participated in division of Belgium (1793); representative of the Convention to the Army of Brest (30 Apr 1793 - 1 Aug 1793); contributed to elaboration of the Law on the Suspects (17 Sep 1793), providing a legal foundation for the Reign of Terror; following the fall of Maximilien Robespierre, was elected President of the National Convention (3 Aug 1794 - 18 Aug 1794) and later became an influent member of the Comité de salut public (Committee of Public Safety) (1 Sep 1794 - 4 Jan 1795; 3 Feb 1795 - 3 Jun 1795; 2 Aug 1795 - 4 Nov 1795); represented the Convention in Nord and Pas-de-Calais (5 Jun 1795 - 22 Jun 1795); elected to the Corps législatif (1795), but declined the election to serve as justice minister (3 Nov 1795 - 4 Jan 1796, 3 Apr 1796 - 18 Sep 1797) and minister of the general police (4 Jan 1796 - 3 Apr 1796); elected (8 Sep 1797) member of the Directoire exécutif (Executive Directory) to succeed François Barthélemy after the coup d'état of 18 Fructidor, Year V (4 Sep 1797); served two terms as President of the Directory (25 Feb 1798 - 26 May 1798, 26 May 1799 - 18 Jun 1799); accused of corruption, resigned his seat in the Directory (18 Jun 1799) along with Louis-Marie La Revellière-Lépeaux; did not take any part in the coup of 18 Brumaire, Year VIII (9 Nov 1799 - 10 Nov 1799); made deputy commissar of the government in the Tribunal of Appeals (30 Dec 1801); procureur général in the Court of Appeals (appointed 14 May 1804); named a councilor of state for life (18 Feb 1806), member of the Légion d'honneur and raised to the dignity of count (14 Apr 1810) by Emperor Napoléon I; during the Cent Jours (Hundred Days), appointed member of the Court of Appeals with the title of minister of state; elected (10 May 1815) to the Chambre des représentants (Chamber of Representatives) to represent Douai; after the Bourbon Restoration proscribed as a regicide (24 Jul 1815) and went into exile; returned to France in 1830. Biography source: [5] [6] [7] [8]


[1] Archives nationales, AF III 1-51J.
[2] After Jean-François Reubell, who served as President of the Executive Directory from 26 May 1798, was granted a leave of absence (30 Jul 1798), Merlin, as ex-president, assumed the presidency and the seals. He signed the official documents issued by the Directory using the formula pour le président.
[3] Transfer of the seals to Merlin is noted in the Gazette nationale ou Le Moniteur universel (No. 250, 10 prairial an VII) without precise date of the transfer; Paul Barras signed the minutes of the Directory as ex-président from 26 May 1799 to 18 Jun 1799.
[4] Gazette nationale ou Le Moniteur universel, No. 274, 4 messidor an VII.
[5] Dictionnaire des Conventionnels,
[6] Dictionnaire des parlementaires français 1789-1889,
[7] Dictionnaire des Constituants,
[8] "Un Juriste en Politique: Merlin de Douai (1754-1838)", by Hervé Leuwers (Artois presse université, Collection histoire, 1996).