File:Fouché_Joseph_Duke_of_Otranto.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Joseph Fouché
Sign in to saveAlso known as Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, Joseph Fouche
French statesman (1759-1820)
Joseph Fouché was a French political figure who lived during the tumultuous period of the French Revolution and Napoleonic era, serving in various powerful government positions including Minister of Police. His career and methods are historically significant because they illustrate how intelligence gathering and secret police operations became central tools of state power during this transformative period in European history.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Joseph
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- France
- Place of birth
- Le Pellerin
- Place of death
- Trieste
- Occupation
- lawyer
- Position held
- minister
- Political party
- Jacobins
- Languages spoken
- French
- Religion
- atheism
- Participant in
- French Revolution
- Noble title
- Duke of Otranto
- Image
- Fouché Joseph Duke of Otranto.jpg
- Work location
- Paris
- Religious order
- Oratory of Saint Philip Neri
Show 10 more facts
- name in native language
- Joseph Fouché
- Commons category
- Joseph Fouché
- date of birth
- 1759-05-21
- date of death
- 1820-12-26
- Commons gallery
- Joseph Fouché
- archives at
- Archives nationales
- member of
- Grand Orient of France
- writing language
- French
- Commons Creator page
- Joseph Fouché
- P8168
- Bill Parcells
via Wikidata · CC0
~32 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché ( French: [ʒozɛf fuʃe]; 21 May 1759 – 26 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte. Fouché later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. He was particularly known for the ferocity with which he suppressed the Lyon insurrection during the Revolution in 1793. But he also was a highly competent minister of police under the Directory, the Consulate, and the Empire. In 1815, he served as President of the Executive Commission, which was the provisional government of France installed after the abdication of Napoleon. In English texts, his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.
Youth
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Joseph Fouché” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.