Cardinal de Richelieu

His Grand Eminence The Duke of Richelieu COHS
Cardinal de Richelieu by Philippe de Champaigne (1642)
First Minister of State
In office 12 August 1624 – 4 December 1642
Monarch	Louis XIII
Preceded by	The Marquis of Ancre Vacant (1617–1624)
Succeeded by	Jules Mazarin
Governor of Brittany
In office 17 April 1632 – 4 December 1642
Monarch	Louis XIII
Preceded by
Succeeded by	Queen Anne
Grand Master of the Navigation
In office 1626–1642
Monarch	Louis XIII
Preceded by	The Duke of Montmorency
Succeeded by	The Marquis of Brézé
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office 30 November 1616 – 24 April 1617
Monarch	Louis XIII
Preceded by
Succeeded by	The Marquis of Sillery
Secretary of State for War
In office 25 November 1616 – 24 April 1617
Monarch	Louis XIII
Preceded by	Claude Mangot
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born	Armand Jean du Plessis (1585-09-09)9 September 1585 Paris, Île-de-France, France
Died	4 December 1642(1642-12-04) (aged 57) Paris, Île-de-France, France
Nationality	French
Alma mater	College of Navarre
Profession	Clergyman, statesman
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Cardinal, Bishop of Luçon
Metropolis	Bordeaux
Diocese	Luçon
See	Luçon
Orders
Consecration	17 April 1607 by Anne d'Escars de Givry
Created Cardinal	5 September 1622
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Previous post	Territorial abbot Coadjutor of Cluny (1627–1635) Territorial abbot of Cluny (1635–1642)
Signature

Styles of Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal de Richelieu
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal

Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu and Fronsac (French pronunciation: ​[aʁmɑ̃ ʒɑ̃ dy plɛsi]; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly referred to as Cardinal Richelieu (French: Cardinal de Richelieu [kaʁdinal d(ə) ʁiʃ(ə)ljø]), was a French clergyman, nobleman, and statesman. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1607 and was appointed Foreign Secretary in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Catholic Church and the French government, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642; he was succeeded by Cardinal Mazarin, whose career he had fostered.

Cardinal de Richelieu was often known by the title of the king's "Chief Minister" or "First Minister". He sought to consolidate royal power and crush domestic factions. By restraining the power of the nobility, he transformed France into a strong, centralized state. His chief foreign policy objective was to check the power of the Austro-Spanish Habsburg dynasty, and to ensure French dominance in the Thirty Years' War that engulfed Europe. Although he was a cardinal, he did not hesitate to make alliances with Protestant rulers in attempting to achieve his goals. While a powerful political figure, events like the Day of the Dupes show that in fact he very much depended on the king's confidence to keep this power.

As alumnus of the University of Paris and headmaster of the Collège de Sorbonne, he renovated and extended the institution. Richelieu was also famous for his patronage of the arts; most notably, he founded the Académie Française, the learned society responsible for matters pertaining to the French language. Richelieu is also known by the sobriquet l'Éminence rouge ("the Red Eminence"), from the red shade of a cardinal's clerical dress and the style "eminence" as a cardinal. As an advocate for Samuel de Champlain and of the retention of New France, he founded the Compagnie des Cent-Associés and saw the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye return Quebec City to French rule under Champlain, after the settlement had been taken by the Kirkes in 1629. This in part allowed the colony to eventually develop into the heartland of Francophone culture in North America.