Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras

Paul -François -Jean- Nicolas, vicomte de Barras (* June 30, 1755 in Fox Amphoux; † January 29, 1829 in Chaillot ) was a French politician and Member of the Executive Board.

Life

Barras, scion of one of the oldest noble families of Provence, joined during the French Revolution as a member of the National Convention in 1792 the Mountain Party and voted for the execution of Louis XVI. He participated in 1794 instrumental in the fall of Robespierre on 9 Thermidor. He later became president of the National Convention.

1795 was known as the corrupt playboy Barras as one of the top five directors at the helm of the state. After the coup of the 18th Fructidor V (4 September 1797) took over the triumvirate of Barras, Louis -Marie de La Révellière - Lépeaux and Jean -François Reubell power in the Executive Board.

Joséphine de Beauharnais, the future wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, was his mistress. Barras mentored the young general who had broken a royalist uprising against the Directorate for him in Paris, by mandating him with the leadership of the Army of Italy and later the Egyptian expedition supported.

However, Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état of 18 Brumaire (1799 ) Barras forced to resign. Barras had both General Napoleon Bonaparte and Joseph Fouché rise favors what the two did not stop to depose him and send him into exile. It was only after Napoleon's abdication Barras returned again, although he was stigmatized as a regicide ( regicide ).

At the end of his life Barras wrote in his memoirs Chaillot, in which he expressed his bitterness over Fouché and Bonaparte expression. Paul Barras was buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Works

• Memoires de Barras, membre du Directoire. Publié avec une introduction générale, the prefaces of the appendices et par Georges Duruy, 4 volumes; Paris: Hachette, 1895-1896