Controller-General of Finances

The Controller-General of Finances (French: Contrôleur général des finances) was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The position replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances (Surintendant des finances), which was abolished with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet. The Superintendent of Finances (Surintendant des finances was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1561 to 1661 Nicolas Fouquet marquis de Belle-Isle viscomte de Melun et Vaux ( January 27, 1615 – March 23, 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances

1 History
2 Responsibilities
3 Organization
4 References
5 See also

History

The term "contrôleur général" in reference to a position of royal accounting and financial oversight had existed in various forms prior to 1547, but the direct predecessor to the 17th century "Controller-General" was created in 1547, with two position-holders whose job was to verify the accounts of the Royal Treasurer (trésor de l'Épargne), who was at that time the head of the royal financial system. Their name came from the account book, or contre-rôle, in which they kept their accounts. The office was thus, in the beginning, not a high administrative or governmental position, but merely an accounting position. In the period following 1547, the financial administration in France continued to change, resulting in the creation of intendants of finances (created in 1552), of which one was to become the Superintendent of Finances (1561). The title of intendant (intendant Spanish intendente) has been used in a number of countries through history The Superintendent of Finances (Surintendant des finances was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1561 to 1661

In 1661, the last Superintendent of Finances, Nicolas Fouquet, was arrested and Jean-Baptiste Colbert became head of the royal financial administration, first with the title of "intendant", then, from 1665, with the title of "contrôleur général des finances". Nicolas Fouquet marquis de Belle-Isle viscomte de Melun et Vaux ( January 27, 1615 – March 23, 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances Jean-Baptiste Colbert ( August 29, 1619 — September 6, 1683) served as the French minister of finance from 1665 to 1683 under Under Colbert's administration, the Controller-General's responsibilities were greatly redefined. Louis XIV suppressed the two positions of Controllers-general, replacing these with a single office, but this position was no longer transmissible; the king could revoke the commission at his pleasure. Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent In addition, the position was far more behoven to the Royal Finance Counsel (Conseil royal des finances). In these ways, the position of Controller-General became a true governmental post.

The function of Controller-General would continue until 1791, with an interruption during the Polysynody (1715-1718). Polysynody (from Greek πολυς numerous several and Greek συνοδος meeting assembly was the system of government in use in France between 1715 and Year 1715 ( MDCCXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1718 ( MDCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

Occasionally, the de facto Minister of Finance served instead as "President of the Royal Council of Finance", who was superior to a mere Controller-General, or, in the case of Jacques Necker, who, as a Protestant, could not serve as Controller-General, as "Director-General of Finances" ("directeur général du Trésor royal", and "directeur général des finances", 1776 - 1781, 1788 - 1790), a less prominent position. Jacques Necker ( September 30, 1732 &ndash April 9, 1804) was a French statesman of Swiss origin and finance Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

The position was renamed Minister of Finances in 1791 which, along with all other ministerial positions, was abolished in 1794, but restored with the advent of the Directory in 1795. The Minister for the Economy Industry and Employment ( ministre de l'Économie de l'Industrie et de l'Emploi) or Minister of Finance for short is one of the Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Executive Directory ( Directoire exécutif) was a body of 5 single-male Directors that held executive power in France following Year 1795 ( MDCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Controller-General were the most extensive of all the administrative positions of the Ancien Régime. Ancien Régime ( pronounced: /ɑ̃sjɛ̃ ʁeʒim/ refers primarily to the aristocratic social and political system established in According to the official description of 1665, the Controller-General had the power "to report in our Counsel of all affairs which are of concern to our service and of any others" ("faire rapport en notre Conseil de toutes les affaires qui concerneront notre service et de toutes autres indifféremment. ")

The Controller-General oversaw finances, agriculture, industry, commerce, bridges and roads ("ponts et chaussées") and a part of lesser administration.

Colbert, first of the Controllers-General, was also head a number of other administrative positions: Secretary of State of the Navy (1669-1683), Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi and Superintendent of the Bâtiments du Roi (1664-1683). The Secretary of State of the Navy (Secrétaire d'État de la Marine was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien The Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi (Secrétaire d'État à la Maison du Roi was the secretary of state in France during the " Ancien Régime The Bâtiments du Roi (Buildings of the King was a division of Department of the household of the Kings of France (the " Maison du Roi " in

The position was very well paid: in addition to 200 000 livre tournois by year, the Controller-General could also gain 20 000 livres as Minister of State, and could also touch bribes during renewal of contracts to the Ferme Générale. The livre tournois (" Tours pound " was one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages; and a money of Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a Parliamentary system. The Ferme générale was in ancien régime France, essentially a franchised customs and excise operation which collected duties on behalf of the king

The Controller-General participated in a number of the King's Councils. The Conseil du Roi or King's Council is a general term for the administrative and governmental apparatus around the king of France during the Ancien Régime He was always member of the king's Privy or Council of State (although he rarely attended), the "Conseil des dépêches", the Royal Finance Counsel ("Conseil royal des finances") and the Royal Commerce Counsel ("Conseil royal de commerce"). This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi. He was almost always a Minister of State (one of two), which allowed him to attend the "High Counsel" ("Conseil d'en haut"). Other than the administration of state finances -- oversight of the "Contrôle Général" and of the Treasory, collection of taxes like the taille, printing money -- he directed the state economy and a large portion of the provincial administration. Taille was also a name used in the time of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Baroque Cor anglais. It was largely on his recommendations that most intendants in the provinces were named. The title of intendant (intendant Spanish intendente) has been used in a number of countries through history

The Controller-General was generally chosen from among the intendants of finances or from the maîtres des requêtes. Maître des requêtes (in French, literally "master of requests" or "petitions" (the term "maître" is an honorific title for lawyers plural Of all ministerial positions, the Controller-General was the least stable, especially during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, to such a point that the Controller-General's official residence was called the "Hotel of Moving-out" ("hôtel des déménagements"). Louis XV (15 February 1710 &ndash 10 May 1774 ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774 Louis XVI ( 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) Louis-Auguste de France, ruled as King of France and Navarre

Organization

Unlike other ministries of the period, the Contrôle Général of Finances was organized in a collegiate manner. It was divided into several departments of which the Controller-General ran the most important (like the Royal Treasury), while the others were each directed by an Intendant of Finance, supervised from afar by the Controller-General. There were six Intendants of Finance at the end of the ancien régime; they were often referred to as "Messieurs des finances" or the "gens des finances".

In the same way, The Controller-General was assisted by four and, later five, Intendants of Commerce.

While in other ministries, only one individual -- the "Secretary of State" -- would attend the king's Counsel, the Contrôle Général appeared before the king as a group comprising the Controller-General and his Intendants of Finance and of Commerce. Because of this, the Contrôle Général considered itself essentially a separate division of the king's Counsel, and those outside of the Contrôle Général lost much of their say in financial matters.

In addition, given that decisions taken by the Contrôle Général -- even the smallest ones -- were supposed to derive from the king, the members of the Contrôle Général were required to sign their decisions as "arrêts du Conseil" ("decisions of the Counsel"), even when these administrative decisions had been decided merely by themselves outside of the king's Counsel. This was the case in 90% of the financial decisions made by the Contrôle Général, with only 10% having actually been decided in the Counsel.

The Contrôle Général had a very large personnel compared to other ministers. Most of the offices were in Paris, close to the bankers and financiers that the bureau dealt with. The Controller-Général had offices in Paris -- at the Palais Mazarin (rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs) which is today the Bibliothèque nationale de France) -- and at Versailles; he was assisted by a secretary and an aide. Versailles (vɛʀsaj in French) formerly de facto capital of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important The Intendants of Finances were lodged in Paris, and were assisted by a secretary and by several aides.

References

This article is based in large part on a translation of the article Contrôleur général des finances from the French Wikipedia on 12 August 2006. The Controller-General of Finances (Contrôleur général des finances was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791 The French Wikipedia (Wikipédia francophone Wikipédia en français is the French language edition of Wikipedia, spelled Wikipédia. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
Michel Antoine. « L'Administration centrale des finances en France du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle », Le Dur métier de roi, PUF, coll. « Histoires », 1986. ISBN 2-13-039680-1
B. Barbiche, Les Institutions de la monarchie française à l'époque moderne, PUF, coll. « Premier cycle », 1999. ISBN 2-13-051940-7
Lucien Bély. (dir. ), Dictionnaire de l'Ancien régime, PUF, coll. « Quadrige », 2003. ISBN 2-13-054033-3
Guy Cabourdin et Georges Viard. Lexique historique de la France d'Ancien Régime, Paris Armand Colin, 1978.
D. Dessert. Argent, pouvoir et société au Grand Siècle, Fayard, 1984. ISBN 2-213-01485-X
Marcel Marion. Dictionnaire des institutions de la France aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, Paris, Éditions Picard, 1923 and 1969.

Contents

History

Responsibilities

Organization

References

See also