Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès
French priest and statesman (1748-1836)
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Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès was a French priest and political thinker who played a significant role during the French Revolution, becoming known for his influential writings and positions on government and social organization. His ideas about representation and political reform shaped key debates during the Revolutionary period and helped define how modern democratic institutions were conceptualized.
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Quotes
- “Messieurs, nous avons un maître, ce jeune homme fait tout, peut tout, et veut tout.”
- “Une nation de singes à larynx de parroquets.”
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Article
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès (3 May 1748 – 20 June 1836), usually known as the Abbé Sieyès ( traditional French pronunciation: [sijɛːs]; modern pronunciation: [sjejɛs]), was a French Catholic priest, abbé, and political writer who was a leading political theorist of the French Revolution (1789–1799). He also held offices in the governments of the French Consulate (1799–1804) and the First French Empire (1804–1815).
His pamphlet What Is the Third Estate? (1789) became the political manifesto of the Revolution, which facilitated transforming the Estates-General into the National Assembly, in June 1789. He was offered and refused an office in the French Directory (1795–1799). After becoming a director in 1799, Sieyès was among the instigators of the Coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November), which installed Napoleon Bonaparte in power.
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1748 births1836 deaths18th-century French Roman Catholic priests18th-century French writers18th-century heads of state of France19th-century French diplomats19th-century French Roman Catholic priestsAmbassadors of France to PrussiaBurials at Père Lachaise CemeteryCollege of Sorbonne alumniCounts of the First French EmpireDeputies to the French National Convention