Jacques Victor Albert de Broglie was born in Paris, France, the eldest son of
Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie, a liberal statesman of the
July Monarchy, and
Albertine, baroness Staël von Holstein, the fourth child of
Madame de Staël. He was therefore the great-grandson of
Jacques Necker. After a brief diplomatic career at
Madrid and Rome, upon the
revolution of 1848 Albert de Broglie withdrew from public life and devoted himself to literature. He had already published a translation of the religious system of
Leibniz (1846). He now at once made his mark by his contributions to the
Revue des deux mondes and the
Orleanist and clerical organ
Le Correspondant. These, and other contributions, brought him the succession to
Lacordaire's seat in the
Académie française in 1862, joining his father in this august society. In 1870 he succeeded his father as the 4th
duc de Broglie, having previously been styled
prince de Broglie. In the following year he was elected to the
National Assembly for the
département of the Eure, and a few days later (on 19 February) was appointed
French Ambassador to
London. After his negotiations concerning the commercial treaties between Britain and France were met with criticism he resigned as ambassador in March 1872 and took his seat in the Assembly, where he became the leader of the royalist campaign against
President Thiers. When Thiers was replaced by
Marshal Mac-Mahon, Broglie was appointed
Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister in May 1873. On 26 November, after the passing of the Septennate, the government was restructured and Broglie exchanged the Foreign with the
Interior Ministry. His conservative policies roused the bitter hatred of the
Republicans, while his attempts to reach a compromise between the rival claimants to the monarchy alienated both the
Legitimists and the
Bonapartists. The result was the fall of the cabinet on 16 May 1874. Three years later (on 16 May 1877) he was entrusted with the formation of a new Cabinet, with the object of appealing to the country and securing a conservative majority in the chamber. While the conservatives increased their share of the vote, the election nevertheless confirmed a decisive Republican majority. De Broglie was defeated in his own constituency and resigned on 20 November. Defeated again in 1885, he abandoned politics and reverted to his historical work, publishing a series of historical studies and biographies. He died in Paris on 19 January 1901, aged 79.
1st Ministry (25 May – 26 November 1873) 2nd Ministry (26 November 1873 – 22 May 1874) 3rd Ministry (17 May – 23 November 1877) ==Bibliography==