Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès | |
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Abbé Sieyès, by Jacques-Louis David (1817, Fogg Museum)
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President of the Conservative Senate | |
In office 27 December 1799 – 13 February 1800 |
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President | Napoleon Bonaparte |
Succeeded by | François Barthélemy |
Member of the French Directory | |
In office 17 June 1799 – 10 November 1799 |
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Preceded by | Jean Baptiste Treilhard |
President of the Council of Five Hundred | |
In office 21 November 1797 – 20 December 1797 |
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Preceded by | François-Toussaint Villers |
Succeeded by | Antoine Boulay de la Meurthe |
66th President of the National Convention | |
In office 20 April 1795 – 5 May 1795 |
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Member of the National Convention | |
In office 20 September 1792 – 2 November 1795 |
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Constituency | Var |
Member of the Estates General for the Third Estate | |
In office 5 May 1789 – 9 July 1789 |
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Constituency | Var |
Personal details | |
Born |
Fréjus, France |
3 May 1748
Died | 20 June 1836 Paris, France |
(aged 88)
Nationality | French |
Political party | Maraisard (1791–1795) |
Education | Saint-Sulpice Seminary |
Profession | Priest, writer |
Religion | Roman Catholic (forced to recant 1792–94) |
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès (3 May 1748 – 20 June 1836), most commonly known as the Abbé Sieyès (French: [sjejɛs]), was a French Roman Catholic abbé, clergyman and political writer. He was one of the chief political theorists of the French Revolution, and also played a prominent role in the French Consulate and First French Empire. His 1789 pamphlet What is the Third Estate? became the de facto manifesto of the Revolution, helping to transform the Estates-General into the National Assembly in June 1789. In 1799, he was among the instigators of the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire (9 November), which brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power. He also coined the term "sociologie" in an unpublished manuscript, and made significant theoretical contributions to the nascent social sciences.
Sieyès was born on 3 May 1748 as the fifth child of Honoré and Annabelle Sieyès in the town of Fréjus in southern France. Sieyès' father was a local tax collector who made a humble income, and while the family had some noble blood, they were commoners. Sieyès' first education came by way of tutors and of the Jesuits. He also spent some time at the collège of the Doctrinaires of Draguignan. Sieyès originally wanted to join the military and become a soldier, but his frail health, combined with his parents' piety, led him instead to pursue a religious career. The vicar-general of Fréjus offered aid to Sieyès, because he felt he was obliged to his father.