Étienne François, duc de Choiseul
| Étienne François de Choiseul, Duke of Choiseul |
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Étienne François de Choiseul. Painting by Charles van Loo.
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| Chief Minister of the French King | |
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In office 1758–1770 |
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| Monarch | Louis XV |
| Succeeded by | Emmanuel Armand de Richelieu, Duke of Aiguillon |
| Foreign Minister of France | |
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In office 1758–1761 |
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| Succeeded by | César Gabriel de Choiseul |
| Foreign Minister of France | |
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In office 1766–1770 |
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| Preceded by | César Gabriel de Choiseul |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 June 1719 Nancy, France |
| Died | 8 May 1785 (aged 65) Paris, France |
| Nationality | France |
Étienne-François, comte de Stainville, duc de Choiseul (28 June 1719 – 8 May 1785) was a French military officer, diplomat and . Between 1758 and 1761, and 1766 and 1770, he was Foreign Minister of France and had a strong influence on France's global strategy throughout the period. He is closely associated with France's defeat in the Seven Years War and subsequent efforts to rebuild French prestige.
The eldest son of François Joseph de Choiseul, marquis de Stainville (1700–1770), Étienne François was born in Nancy in the Duchy of Lorraine where his father was one of the leading advisors to the Duke of Lorraine who ruled an independent French-speaking state with close cultural and political links with France. At birth, he bore the title of comte de Stainville. In 1737 Francis Stephen of Lorraine (the future Holy Roman Emperor Francis I) was pressured into giving up Lorraine and becoming ruler of Tuscany in Italy. Realising that continued loyalty to the House of Lorraine would limit his opportunities, Étienne François transferred his allegiance to France.
After gaining experience during the Austro-Turkish War, the comte de Stainville entered the French army, and during the War of the Austrian Succession served in Bohemia (1741) and in Italy (1744), where he distinguished himself at the Battle of Coni. He was also present at the Battle of Dettingen in Germany and carried news of the French defeat there to Paris. He had been appalled by what he had witnessed of the French forces at Dettingen, particularly what he later described as their "indifference and ignorance", and his experiences motivated his later reforms of the French military.
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