Émile Ollivier
Encyclopedia
Olivier Émile Ollivier was a French statesman
. Although a republican, he served as a cabinet minister under Emperor Napoleon III and led the process of turning his regime into a "liberal Empire".
. His father, Demosthènes Ollivier (1799–1884), was a vehement opponent of the July Monarchy
, and was returned by Marseille to the Constituent Assembly
in 1848 which established a republic
. His opposition to Louis Napoleon led to his banishment after the coup d'etat of December 1851, and he returned to France only in 1860.
With the establishment of the Second Republic
, his father's influence with Ledru-Rollin
secured for Émile Ollivier the position of commissary-general of the département of Bouches-du-Rhône
. Ollivier, then twenty-three, had just been called to the Parisian bar. Less radical in his political opinions than his father, he suppressed a socialist uprising at Marseille, commending himself to General Cavaignac
, who made him prefect of the department. He was shortly afterwards removed to the comparatively unimportant prefecture of Chaumont-la-Ville
(Haute-Marne
), a demotion perhaps brought about by his father's enemies. He resigned from the civil service to take up a practice at the bar, where his abilities assured his success.
département. His candidacy had been supported by the Siècle, and he joined the constitutional opposition. With Alfred Darimon, Jules Favre
, JL Hénon and Ernest Picard
he formed a group known as Les Cinq (the Five), which wrung from Napoleon III some concessions in the direction of constitutional government.
Although still a republican, Ollivier was a moderate who was prepared to accept the Empire in return for civil liberties even if it was a step-by-step process.
The imperial decree of 24 November, permitting the insertion of parliamentary reports in the Moniteur, and an address from the Corps Législatif in reply to the speech from the throne, were welcomed by him as an initial piece of reform. This marked a considerable change of attitude, for only a year previously he attacked the imperial government, in the course of a defence of Étienne Vacherot
, brought to trial for the publication of La Démocratie. This resulted in his suspension from the bar for three months.
He gradually separated from his old associates, who grouped themselves around Jules Favre, and during the session of 1866–1867, Ollivier formed a third party, which supported the principle of a Liberal Empire.
On the last day of December 1866, Count AFJ Walewski, continuing negotiations begun by the duc de Morny, offered to make Ollivier the Minister of Education
, representing the general policy of the government in the Chamber. The imperial decree of 19 January 1867, together with the promise inserted in the Moniteur of a relaxation of the stringency of the press laws and of concessions in respect of the right of public meeting, failed to satisfy Ollivier's demands, and he refused the office.
and the formation in the last week of that year of a ministry of which Ollivier was really premier, although that office was not nominally recognized by the constitution.
The new cabinet, known as the ministry of 2 January, had a hard task before it, complicated a week after its formation by the shooting of Victor Noir
, a Republican journalist, by Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte
, the Emperor's cousin. Ollivier immediately summoned the high court of justice for the judgment of Prince Bonaparte and Joachim Murat
. The riots following the murder were suppressed without bloodshed; circulars were sent round to the prefects forbidding them to put pressure on the electors in favour of official candidates; Baron Haussmann
was dismissed from the prefecture of the Seine département.
The violent press campaign against the emperor, to whom he had promised a happy old age, was broken by the prosecution of Henri Rochefort; and on 20 April a sénatus-consulte was issued which accomplished the transformation of the Empire into a constitutional monarchy. Neither concessions nor firmness sufficed to appease the "Irreconcilables" of the opposition, who since the relaxation of the press laws were able to influence the electorate.
On 8 May, however, the amended constitution was submitted, on Rouher's advice, to a plebiscite, which resulted in a vote of nearly seven to one in favour of the government. This appeared to confirm that Napoleon III' son
would succeed him and was a bitter blow to the Republicans.
The most distinguished members of the Left in the cabinet – LJ Buffet, Napoleon Daru
and Talhouët Roy – resigned in April over the plebiscite. Ollivier himself held the ministry of foreign affairs
for a month, until Daru was replaced by the duc de Gramont
, Ollivier's evil genius. The other vacancies were filled by JP Mège and CI Plichon, both of them of Conservative tendencies.
, Benedetti
to demand from the Prussian king
a formal disavowal of the Hohenzollern candidature. Ollivier allowed himself to be won over by the war party. It is unlikely that he could have prevented the eventual outbreak of war, but he might have postponed it if he had heard Benedetti's account of the incident. He was outmanoeuvered by Otto von Bismarck
, and on 15 July he made a hasty declaration in the Chamber that the Prussian government had issued to the powers a note announcing the rebuff received by Benedetti, the Ems Dispatch
. He obtained a war vote of 500,000,000 francs, and used the fatal words that he accepted the responsibility of the war "with a light heart," saying that the war had been forced on France.
On 9 August, with the news of the first disaster of the war, the Ollivier cabinet was driven from office, and its chief sought refuge from the general rage in Italy. He returned to France in 1873, but although he carried on an active campaign in the Bonapartist Estafette his political power was gone, and even in his own party he came into collision in 1880 with Paul de Cassagnac.
He had many connexions with the literary and artistic world, being one of the early Parisian champions of Richard Wagner
. Elected to the Academy in 1870, he did not take his seat. His first wife, Blandine Liszt, was the daughter of Franz Liszt
and Marie d'Agoult
(Daniel Stern). She died in 1862, and in 1869 Ollivier married Mlle Gravier.
Ollivier's own view of his political life is given in his L'Empire libéral, an important document for the history of his time..
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
. Although a republican, he served as a cabinet minister under Emperor Napoleon III and led the process of turning his regime into a "liberal Empire".
Early life and career
Émile Ollivier was born in MarseilleMarseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
. His father, Demosthènes Ollivier (1799–1884), was a vehement opponent of the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
, and was returned by Marseille to the Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
in 1848 which established a republic
French Second Republic
The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité...
. His opposition to Louis Napoleon led to his banishment after the coup d'etat of December 1851, and he returned to France only in 1860.
With the establishment of the Second Republic
French Second Republic
The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité...
, his father's influence with Ledru-Rollin
Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin
Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin was a French politician.The grandson of Nicolas Philippe Ledru, the celebrated quack doctor known as "Comus" under Louis XV and Louis XVI, Ledru-Rollin was born in a house that had once been Paul Scarron's, at Fontenay-aux-Roses...
secured for Émile Ollivier the position of commissary-general of the département of Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
. Ollivier, then twenty-three, had just been called to the Parisian bar. Less radical in his political opinions than his father, he suppressed a socialist uprising at Marseille, commending himself to General Cavaignac
Louis Eugène Cavaignac
Louis-Eugène-John-Jacob-Cavaignac , French general, second son of Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac and brother of Éléonore Louis Godefroi Cavaignac, was born at Paris.- Military career :...
, who made him prefect of the department. He was shortly afterwards removed to the comparatively unimportant prefecture of Chaumont-la-Ville
Chaumont-la-Ville
Chaumont-la-Ville is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Haute-Marne department...
(Haute-Marne
Haute-Marne
Haute-Marne is a department in the northeast of France named after the Marne River.-History:Haute-Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
), a demotion perhaps brought about by his father's enemies. He resigned from the civil service to take up a practice at the bar, where his abilities assured his success.
Calls for a Liberal Empire
He re-entered political life in 1857 as deputy for the 3rd circumscription of the SeineSeine (département)
Seine was a département of France encompassing Paris and its immediate suburbs. Its préfecture was Paris and its official number was 75. The Seine département was abolished in 1968 and its territory divided among four new départements....
département. His candidacy had been supported by the Siècle, and he joined the constitutional opposition. With Alfred Darimon, Jules Favre
Jules Favre
Jules Claude Gabriel Favre was a French statesman. After the establishment of the Third Republic in September 1870, he became one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans faction.- Early life :...
, JL Hénon and Ernest Picard
Ernest Picard
Louis Joseph Ernest Picard was a French politician.He was born in Paris. After taking his doctorate in law in 1846 he joined the Parisian bar. Elected to the corps législatif in 1858, he became a follower of Émile Ollivier...
he formed a group known as Les Cinq (the Five), which wrung from Napoleon III some concessions in the direction of constitutional government.
Although still a republican, Ollivier was a moderate who was prepared to accept the Empire in return for civil liberties even if it was a step-by-step process.
The imperial decree of 24 November, permitting the insertion of parliamentary reports in the Moniteur, and an address from the Corps Législatif in reply to the speech from the throne, were welcomed by him as an initial piece of reform. This marked a considerable change of attitude, for only a year previously he attacked the imperial government, in the course of a defence of Étienne Vacherot
Étienne Vacherot
Étienne Vacherot was a French philosophical writer.-Life:He was born of peasant parentage at Torcenay, near Langres in the Haute-Marne département of France....
, brought to trial for the publication of La Démocratie. This resulted in his suspension from the bar for three months.
He gradually separated from his old associates, who grouped themselves around Jules Favre, and during the session of 1866–1867, Ollivier formed a third party, which supported the principle of a Liberal Empire.
On the last day of December 1866, Count AFJ Walewski, continuing negotiations begun by the duc de Morny, offered to make Ollivier the Minister of Education
Minister of National Education (France)
The Ministry of National Education, Youth, and Sport , or simply "Minister of National Education," as the title has changed no small number of times in the course of the Fifth Republic) is the French government cabinet member charged with running France's public educational system and with the...
, representing the general policy of the government in the Chamber. The imperial decree of 19 January 1867, together with the promise inserted in the Moniteur of a relaxation of the stringency of the press laws and of concessions in respect of the right of public meeting, failed to satisfy Ollivier's demands, and he refused the office.
In Government
On the eve of the general election of 1869, he published a manifesto, Le 19 janvier, on his policy. The sénatus-consulte of 8 September 1869 gave the two chambers ordinary parliamentary rights, and was followed by the dismissal of Eugène RouherEugène Rouher
Eugène Rouher was a French statesman of the Second Empire.He was born at Riom , where he practised law after taking his degree in Paris in 1835. In 1846 he sought election to the Chamber of Deputies as an official candidate of the Guizot ministry...
and the formation in the last week of that year of a ministry of which Ollivier was really premier, although that office was not nominally recognized by the constitution.
The new cabinet, known as the ministry of 2 January, had a hard task before it, complicated a week after its formation by the shooting of Victor Noir
Victor Noir
Victor Noir, , was a French journalist who is famous for the manner of his death and its political consequences...
, a Republican journalist, by Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte
Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte
Pierre-Napoléon Bonaparte was born in Rome, Italy, the son of Lucien Bonaparte and his second wife Alexandrine de Bleschamp....
, the Emperor's cousin. Ollivier immediately summoned the high court of justice for the judgment of Prince Bonaparte and Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
. The riots following the murder were suppressed without bloodshed; circulars were sent round to the prefects forbidding them to put pressure on the electors in favour of official candidates; Baron Haussmann
Baron Haussmann
Georges-Eugène Haussmann, commonly known as Baron Haussmann , was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris...
was dismissed from the prefecture of the Seine département.
The violent press campaign against the emperor, to whom he had promised a happy old age, was broken by the prosecution of Henri Rochefort; and on 20 April a sénatus-consulte was issued which accomplished the transformation of the Empire into a constitutional monarchy. Neither concessions nor firmness sufficed to appease the "Irreconcilables" of the opposition, who since the relaxation of the press laws were able to influence the electorate.
On 8 May, however, the amended constitution was submitted, on Rouher's advice, to a plebiscite, which resulted in a vote of nearly seven to one in favour of the government. This appeared to confirm that Napoleon III' son
Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial
Napoléon, Prince Imperial, , Prince Imperial, Fils de France, was the only child of Emperor Napoleon III of France and his Empress consort Eugénie de Montijo...
would succeed him and was a bitter blow to the Republicans.
The most distinguished members of the Left in the cabinet – LJ Buffet, Napoleon Daru
Napoléon, comte Daru
Napoléon, comte Daru, , was a French soldier and politician. Son of Pierre Daru and godson of Napoléon and Joséphine, he studied at the lycée Louis-le-Grand, then at the l'Ecole polytechnique and at the l'Ecole militaire d'application in Metz...
and Talhouët Roy – resigned in April over the plebiscite. Ollivier himself held the ministry of foreign affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for...
for a month, until Daru was replaced by the duc de Gramont
Agenor, duc de Gramont
Antoine Alfred Agénor, Duc de Gramont was a French diplomat and statesman.He was born at Paris of one of the most illustrious families of the old noblesse, a cadet branch of the viscounts of Aure, which took its name from the Seignory of Gramont in Navarre...
, Ollivier's evil genius. The other vacancies were filled by JP Mège and CI Plichon, both of them of Conservative tendencies.
War with Prussia
The revival of the candidature of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen for the Spanish throne early in 1870 disconcerted Ollivier's plans. The French government, following Gramont's advice, instructed their ambassador to PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, Benedetti
Vincent, Count Benedetti
Vincent, Count Benedetti was a French diplomat. He is probably best known as one of the central figures in the instigation of the Franco-Prussian War.Benedetti was born at Bastia, on the island of Corsica...
to demand from the Prussian king
William I, German Emperor
William I, also known as Wilhelm I , of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor .Under the leadership of William and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the...
a formal disavowal of the Hohenzollern candidature. Ollivier allowed himself to be won over by the war party. It is unlikely that he could have prevented the eventual outbreak of war, but he might have postponed it if he had heard Benedetti's account of the incident. He was outmanoeuvered by Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
, and on 15 July he made a hasty declaration in the Chamber that the Prussian government had issued to the powers a note announcing the rebuff received by Benedetti, the Ems Dispatch
Ems Dispatch
The Ems Dispatch , sometimes called the Ems Telegram, caused France to declare the Franco-Prussian War in July 1870. The actual dispatch was an internal message from the Prussian King's vacationing site to Bismarck in Berlin, reporting demands made by the French ambassador; it was Bismarck's...
. He obtained a war vote of 500,000,000 francs, and used the fatal words that he accepted the responsibility of the war "with a light heart," saying that the war had been forced on France.
On 9 August, with the news of the first disaster of the war, the Ollivier cabinet was driven from office, and its chief sought refuge from the general rage in Italy. He returned to France in 1873, but although he carried on an active campaign in the Bonapartist Estafette his political power was gone, and even in his own party he came into collision in 1880 with Paul de Cassagnac.
Written Works
During his retirement he employed himself in writing a history of L'Empire libéral, the first volume of which appeared in 1895. The work really dealt with the remote and immediate causes of the war, and was the author's apology for his blunder. The 13th volume showed that the immediate blame could not justly be placed entirely on his shoulders. His other works include:- Démocratie et liberté (1867)
- Le Ministère du 2 janvier, mes discours (1875)
- Principes et conduite (1875)
- L'Eglise et l'Etat au concile du Vatican (2 vols., 1879)
- Solutions politiques et sociales (1893)
- Nouveau Manuel du droit ecclésiastique français (1885).
He had many connexions with the literary and artistic world, being one of the early Parisian champions of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
. Elected to the Academy in 1870, he did not take his seat. His first wife, Blandine Liszt, was the daughter of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
and Marie d'Agoult
Marie d'Agoult
Marie Catherine Sophie de Flavigny, Vicomtesse de Flavigny , was a French author, known also by her married name and title, Marie, Comtesse d'Agoult, and by her pen name, Daniel Stern....
(Daniel Stern). She died in 1862, and in 1869 Ollivier married Mlle Gravier.
Ollivier's own view of his political life is given in his L'Empire libéral, an important document for the history of his time..