Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy

Nicolas IV de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy (1543 – 12 November 1617) was a secretary of state under four kings of France: Charles IX, Henry III, Henry IV, and Louis XIII. The most distinguished of all sixteenth-century French secretaries, Villeroy rose to prominence during the French Wars of Religion, a period of almost insoluble difficulties for the French monarchy and government. Despite faithfully serving Henry III, Villeroy found himself sacked by him without explanation in 1588, along with all the king's ministers. He was reinstated by Henry IV in 1594 and became more important than ever before. He remained in office until his death in 1617 during the reign of Louis XIII.

Villeroy grew up at court and entered government service at a young age, following in the footsteps of his father Nicolas III de Neufville, and both grandfathers. In 1559, at the age of sixteen, he became a financial secretary and was soon employed by Catherine de' Medici, the widow of Henry II and the mother of the next three kings. Because those kings were either too young, too ill, or, in Henry III's case, too irresponsible to attend to the details of administration, Catherine took control of the government. In order to manage, she formed around her a core of trusted ministers, including Villeroy.

In 1567, at the age of twenty-four, Villeroy became a secretary of state in succession to his father-in-law, Claude II de l'Aubespine. His wife, Madeleine de l’Aubespine, (1546–96) whom he probably married in 1561, was not only beautiful but learned enough to translate the epistles of Ovid.

Villeroy himself had attended the Collège de Navarre, but did not remain in education for long enough to achieve high literary style—Cardinal Richelieu was to say of Villeroy that he possessed excellent judgement without advanced education (non aidé d'aucunes lettres)—though he occasionally wrote poetry himself and knew the poet Ronsard. Villeroy and Madelaine had two sons and a daughter, but only one son, named Charles after the king, survived. Villeroy remarried after his wife's death in 1596 and had another son, Nicolas, who entered religion, becoming the Abbot of Chaise-Dieu. He was also abbé commendataire of Mozac, from 1571 - 1610.

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