Chief minister of France

The Chief Minister of France or First Minister of State (French: Principal ministre d'État) was an informal title given to the various personages who ruled the Kingdom of France on behalf of monarch, during the Ancien Régime ("Old Regime") but also in the two French Empires.

Like the title of Chief Minister was unofficial, the monarch maintained all his powers, giving to the Chief Minister the task to make effective his orders. However, during moments were the king was absent from the country, highly sick, indifferent or unfit to govern, the Chief Minister had a strong role, becoming the real mind behind the state's operating.

Usually, the Chief Ministers were members of the King's Council (the archaic form of cabinet) or high members of the French nobility or the Catholic clergy.

With the eruption of the French Revolution in 1789, the First Minister of State progressively lost importance and influence inside national politics. Finally, with the coming of the constitutional monarchy in 1791, the title of First Minister ceased to exist.

During the First Empire (1804), the function of "Chief Minister" was held by the Secretary of State (French: Secrétaire d'État). The Secretary of State's tasks included the prosecution of the ministerial works and the countersign on imperial decree. However, Napoleon directly ruled the government's works for all his reign, giving the Secretary of State only a formality. During the Hundred Days (1815), the Napoleon's attempt to return Emperor failed, and on June the position of "President of the Executive Commission" (French: Président de la Commission de gouvernement) was created to carry France in the transition from Empire to restored Kingdom.

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