Jean Richardot
| Jean Richardot | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| president of the Brussels Privy Council | |
|
In office 1597–1609 |
|
| Monarch | Archdukes Albert and Isabella |
| Succeeded by | Engelbert Maes |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jean Grusset 1540 Champlitte, Franche-Comté |
| Died | 3 September 1609 Arras |
| Resting place | Church of St Gudula, Brussels |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Courcol de Baillencourt |
| Relations | François Richardot (maternal uncle) |
| Parents | Guillaume Grusset and Marguerite Richardot |
| Education | civil law |
| Alma mater | Leuven University |
Jean Grusset dict Richardot, knight (1540 – 3 September 1609) was a statesman and diplomat from the Franche-Comté, who held high political office during the Dutch Revolt and played an important role in restoring Habsburg rule in the Southern Netherlands.
Jean Richardot belonged to the network of families from the Franche-Comté that rose to important posts in the administration of the Habsburg Netherlands under the patronage of Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle. He was born in Champlitte in 1540 as the son of Guillaume Grusset and Marguerite Richardot. His uncle on his mother's side was François Richardot, the confessor of Margaret of Parma, a close collaborator of Granvelle and his successor as bishop of Arras. François Richardot supervised his nephew's education and furthered his first steps in the Habsburg administration. Whether out of gratitude or calculation, Jean Grusset subsequently adopted his uncle's surname. After his humanities at the Collège Granvelle in Besançon, Jean studied law at the universities of Leuven, where he established strong ties with one of his professors, Peter Peckius. He continued his studies in Rome and Padua and obtained his doctorate in law from the University of Bologna.
Thanks to the patronage of Granvelle, Philip II appointed Richardot councillor in the Great Council of Mechelen in 1568. Seven years later he was promoted to the Privy Council, one of the three Collateral Councils that advised the Governor-General of the Habsburg Netherlands, a post that was at the time held by Don Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga. In the confusion that followed the death of Requesens, Richardot sided with the Dutch Revolt and its leader William the Silent. The move earned him an appointment to the Privy Council of the rebels' Governor-General Archduke Matthias. In that capacity he was sent to Arras to use his local connections to dissuade the States of Artois from joining the Union of Arras.
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