Marie-Joseph-Louis-Adolphe Thiers

Moved to Paris in 1821 after dropping lawyer practice in Aix-en-Provence; worked as journalist and historian; published 10 volumes of Histoire de la révolution française (1820s); cofounder of Le National newspaper (1830); elected deputy for Aix-en-Provence to the Chambre des députés [Chamber of Deputies] (Oct 1830); interior minister (11 Oct 1832 - 31 Dec 1832, 4 Apr 1834 - 10 Nov 1834 and 18 Nov 1834 - 22 Feb 1836) under the Orleanist monarchy; briefly served as President of the Council of Ministers and minister for foreign affairs (22 Feb 1836 - 6 Sep 1836); published 20-volume Histoire du consulat et de l'empire (1840s); appointed President of the Council of Ministers (1 Mar 1840 - 29 Oct 1840) and foreign minister (1 Mar 1840 - 29 Oct 1840); during the revolution of 1848 attempted to save the monarchy and agreed to form the government on 24 Feb 1848, but the ensuing revolution put an end to the monarchy of Louis-Philippe I; elected deputy to the Assemblée nationale constituante (Constituent National Assembly) in 1848 from four départements; emerged as a moderate leader (1850s), who opposed the coup of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte; arrested and exiled to Switzerland; returned to France (1852), but stayed away from politics for almost a decade; elected (1863) deputy from Paris to the Corps législatif; advocating aggressive policy against Prussia, suddenly changed his views, disapproved the Franco-Prussian war and won popular support; appointed (17 Feb 1871) Chief of the Executive Power and President of the Council of Ministers (17 Feb 1871 - 24 May 1873); signed preliminary peace agreement with Otto von Bismarck (26 Feb 1871), ratified by the National Assembly (1 Mar 1871); Treaty of Frankfurt was concluded on 10 May 1871; government moved to Versailles by the end of March 1871; radical government known as the Commune de Paris (Paris Commune) seized the state power in the capital (March 1871), but the revolt was severely suppressed; title was changed to President of the French Republic (31 Aug 1871); faced a strong monarchist opposition, but a lack of consent between Legitimists and Orleanists allowed to preserve the republican form of government; managed to collect funds to pay off the war indemnity to the German Reich; open conversion to republicanism outraged the monarchists and led to resignation submitted to the National Assembly on 24 May 1873; a motion to decline the resignation, initiated by republican deputies, failed the same day (362 against 331 votes); was elected deputy from the Seine département and used his influence against President marshal de Mac Mahon (the Manifest of 363); died during the electoral campaign. Biography source: [6]