French ecclesiastic and politician. With ability, energy and extreme ambition, he became a member of the Royal Council, a Cardinal in 1622, and as chief minister to King Louis XIII, he was the virtual ruler of France from 1624-42. Called both “Iron Cardinal” and “The Red Eminence,” Richelieu was an imposing figure in his red robes, distinguished and commanding. He was the acknowledged architect of France’s greatness in the 17th century, and was instrumental in establishing royal absolutism in France. Showing no mercy to his enemies, he was loyal to his king and country.
Born Armand Jean du Plessis in Paris, he took the name Richelieu from the name of his family’s estate. His family origins were insignificant, but through intermarriage, they had achieved some prominence. His father, Francois du Plessis, was grand provost to Henry III, and his mother, Suzanne de la Porte, was the daughter of a councilor of the Parliament of Paris. When he was five years old, his father died, leaving estates ruined by mismanagement, and his childhood was marked by the looming threat of penury. His mother, left to raise the family of three boys and two girls on her own, worked to reorganize their resources. In order to save a grant from Henry III, a member of the family needed to be consecrated bishop, and the obligation fell to Armand-Jean, a student at the time. Thin and pale, sickly and frail, he was not displeased by a future career in the church. Intelligent, he was a natural at debating and seemed to like the idea of governing the lives of others. At age nine, he was sent to College de Navarre in Paris, and at age 17, he began a serious study of theology. Younger than the canonical age for consecration, he went to Rome and received a papal dispensation from Paul V. On 17 April 1607, at age 22, he was ordained a priest and consecrated to the see of Luçon.
After negotiating the reconciliation between Marie de Medici and her son Louis XIII, Richelieu became the king’s chief advisor in 1624. He fought the Protestants during the Siege of La Rochelle in 1627, and confiscated their strongholds. He organized the battle against Spain during the Thirty Years’ War. Although a staunch Roman Catholic, he used the battle between the German Protestants and Spain as a means to make France a great power, and by the end of the war, France was the foremost power in Europe. He was obsessed with order as a superior moral end, and was the first theologian to write in French. Richelieu was a strong supporter of the French navy and worked to establish French colonies in Africa and the Caribbean. Toward the end of his life, there was great conflict between Richelieu and the pope. A struggle with the church over the allocation of revenues to finance the war left his relationship with Urban VIII strained, but a man of tremendous willpower, Richelieu remained true to his views on the relationship between church and state. Throughout his life, there were many conspiracies waged against him. He had a gift for seeing both sides of an issue, and often confused his critics by his compromise and moderation.
Hard working and conscience-stricken, he accumulated a great deal of wealth during his lifetime, which was largely dedicated to public service. He was a patron of the arts, collected great works and was a playwright and talented musician. He rebuilt the Sorbonne in Paris, provided support for promising writers and founded the French Academy.
A man who adhered to the Machiavellian concept that “the ends justify the means,” at the time of his death on 4 December 1642 in Paris, he was the most hated man in France.
[Lois-don’t know where the “loved cats” in categories came from, not mine and it’s not in bio].
Link to Wikipedia biography