Jacques Louis Randon
| Jacques Louis Randon | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 25 March 1795 Grenoble, France |
| Died | 16 January 1871 (aged 75) Geneva, Switzerland |
| Allegiance | France |
| Service/branch | French Army |
| Rank | Général de division |
| Battles/wars |
Napoleonic Wars Franco-Austrian War |
| Awards |
Marshal of France Grand Croix of the Legion of Honor |
| Other work | Minister of War |
Jacques Louis César Alexandre Randon, 1st Count Randon (25 March 1795 – 16 January 1871) was a French military and political leader, also Marshal of France and governor of Algeria.
He was born at Grenoble in Dauphiné, of a Protestant family. Later in life he converted to Catholicism, under the influence of his second wife. He was a nephew of General Jean-Gabriel, Count Marchand, the husband of an aunt. Revolutionary Antoine-Joseph Barnave was a first cousin of his mother.
He enlisted in the French Army at sixteen, joined his uncle Marchand in Warsaw and was promoted to sergeant on 11 April 1812. He took part in the Russian Campaign, the taking of Moscow and the retreat back. He then fought in Napoleon's campaigns in Germany and France, notably at the battles of Lützen, Bautzen and Leipzig.
He was Minister of War from January to October 1851, after which he was appointed Governor-General of Algerie (11 December 1851 to 31 August 1858). Although initially not in favour of the coup of December 1851, he finally rallied the Second French Empire. He was made a Count in 1852 (by reversion of the title of his uncle General Marchand), and Marshal of France in 1856, at the same time as Canrobert and Bosquet. He served again as Minister of War from 1859 to 1867.
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