Ministre de la Marine

Ministère de la Marine
The coat of arms of the French Royal Ministry of the Navy, 1819.
Active	1669 – 1947
Country	Kingdom of France (until 1790)  Kingdom of the French (until 1792) French First Republic (1792–1804) First French Empire (1804–1815) Bourbon Restoration (1815-1830) Kingdom of the French (1830–1848) French Second Republic (1848–1852) Second French Empire (1852–1870) French Third Republic (1870–1940) Vichy France (1940–1944) Provisional Government of the French Republic (1944–1946) French Fourth Republic (1946–1947)
Type	Navy
Insignia
Naval Ensign of the Kingdom of France
Naval Ensign of the French Navy Revolution
Naval Ensign of the French Navy
Naval Ensign of the Free French Navy Forces

The Ministère de la Marine (English: Ministry of the Navy, a.k.a. the marine, ministry, department, secretariat of state) was a section of the French government - apart from the Ministry of War (French:Ministère de la Guerre) - that was in charge of the French navy and colonies.

The ministry combined the administration of the navy, the colonies like New France and seaborne trade helping for example the French East India Company. A widely held view at the time was that for states to be powerful, wealthy and prestigious, colonies in the New World need to be maintained for their consequent trade. The maintenance of colonies through naval operations not only served to improve the stature of the state, but was also helpful in destroying their European rivals in North America.

After the Second World War, the Ministry of the Navy was merged with the War Ministry, absorbing the role of the Minister of the Navy and Colonies, with a Minister of National Defence directing the entire military French forces.

Since the 16th century, the Secretary of State of the Navy (French: Secrétaire d'État de la Marine) was responsible for the French early navy and colonies.

In 1624, Louis XIII’s first minister, Cardinal Richelieu created the first model of the modern French Navy, also known as the Marine or La Royale, run by the Secretary of State of the Navy. The official French Marine was not established until 7 March 1669 by Jean-Baptiste Colbert. At this time, the ministry of marine became an official government department with a permanent staff, holding offices at Versailles. All of the policies and procedures for the marine were established by Colbert.

The Secretary of State of the Navy was responsible for the administration of both the navy (the "marine royale") and civilian (merchant marine) fleets, and for all France's ports, arsenals, consulates, and colonies, as well as the guardianship for all her commercial companies.