Chairman of the Council of Ministers (France)

In France, the President of the Council, officially President of the Council of Ministers, was the head of government under several political regimes of the 19th and 20th centuries. Since the establishment of the Fifth Republic, the role of head of government has been fulfilled by the Prime Minister (Article 21 of the Constitution of 4 October 1958).

History This title was first held by Talleyrand in 1815 during the Restoration. Constitutionally, it is the King who presides over the Council of Ministers: the minister "President of the Council" replaces him when necessary. In practice, he already played a leading role, as Louis XVIII declared in a letter to Decazes in 1821:

The record for longevity in this position (9 years, 3 months, and 17 days – of which 6 years, 10 months, and 20 days were continuous) is held by Jean-de-Dieu Soult, who headed the government three times under the July Monarchy.

The first President of the Council of the Third Republic was Jules Dufaure in 1876. From 1871 to 1876, the head of government held the title of Vice-President of the Council, with the Council presided over by the President of the Republic (Adolphe Thiers, then Marshal Mac Mahon). The legislative elections of 1876 led to a political crisis between the government and the President of the Republic. The position of President of the Council was then created. It was not official, as the constitutional laws of the Third Republic granted all executive power to the President of the Republic. Curiously, it was the latter who continued to preside over the Council of Ministers held at the Élysée Palace, while another government member held the title of "President of the Council of Ministers" and guided the discussions. Until 1934, the President of the Council had to combine government leadership with another ministerial portfolio, as, being the "unofficial" head of government, he had neither offices nor staff. The President of the Council presented to the President of the Republic a list of ministers from parties that formed a coalition for the occasion (the program was rather brief). This coalition remained fragile, vulnerable to the defection of one of its components over a specific aspect of government policy. The ministry then appeared before the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, which voted to grant it confidence. The Constitution of 1946 formalized the creation of a President of the Council vested with executive power but still specified that "the President of the Republic presides over the Council of Ministers." The Constitution of 1958 clearly expressed the primacy of the President of the Republic by assigning the title of Prime Minister to the head of government and reserving the presidency of the Council of Ministers to the President of the Republic.

Under the Vichy regime, the head of government was called Vice-President of the Council and later simply Head of Government, with the presidency of the Council of Ministers held by the head of state.

The title of Vice-President of the Council was again given from 1926 to 1958 to certain prominent ministers.

List of Chairmen of the Council in France PresidentGovernment termStartEndDurationRestoration (1815–1830)Louis XVIII and Charles X, Kings of FranceCharles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord1st term daysArmand-Emmanuel, Duke of Richelieu1st term daysJean-Joseph, Marquis Dessolles1st term daysÉlie, Duke Decazes1st term daysArmand-Emmanuel, Duke of Richelieu2nd term daysJoseph, Count de Villèle1st term daysJean-Baptiste, Viscount of Martignac1st term daysJules, Count de Polignac1st term daysCasimir-Louis-Victurnien, Duke de Mortemart1st term daysJuly Monarchy (1830–1848)Louis-Philippe I, King of the FrenchJacques Laffitte1st term daysCasimir Perier daysJean-de-Dieu Soult, Duke of Dalmatia1st term daysÉtienne Maurice, Count Gérard1st term daysHugues-Bernard Maret, Duke of Bassano1st term daysÉdouard Mortier, Duke of Treviso1st term daysAchille-Charles-Victor, Duke de Broglie1st term daysAdolphe Thiers1st term daysLouis, Count Molé1st term and 2nd term daysJean-de-Dieu Soult, Duke of Dalmatia2nd term daysAdolphe Thiers2nd term daysJean-de-Dieu Soult, Duke of Dalmatia3rd term daysFrançois Guizot1st term daysLouis, Count MoléAborted daysAdolphe ThiersAborted daysSecond Republic ( – )Provisional Government of 1848Jacques Charles Dupont de l'Eure1st term daysConstituent AssemblyLouis Eugène Cavaignac1st term daysLouis-Napoléon Bonaparte, President from to Odilon Barrot1st term and 2nd term daysAlphonse Henri d'Hautpoul (de facto)1st term daysLéon Faucher (de facto)1st term daysLouis-Napoléon Bonaparte (de facto)Last cabinet daysThird Republic ( – )Adolphe Thiers, President from to Jules Dufaure (Vice-President of the Council)1st term daysJules Dufaure (Vice-President of the Council)2nd term daysMarshal Mac Mahon, President from to Albert de Broglie, Duke de Broglie (Vice-President of the Council)1st term daysAlbert de Broglie, Duke de Broglie (Vice-President of the Council)2nd term daysErnest Courtot de Cissey (Vice-President of the Council) daysLouis Buffet (Vice-President of the Council) daysJules Dufaure (Vice-President of the Council) daysJules Dufaure (1st President of the Council) daysJules Simon daysAlbert de Broglie, Duke de Broglie daysGaëtan de Rochebouët daysJules Dufaure daysJules Grévy, President from to William Waddington daysCharles de Freycinet daysJules Ferry daysLéon Gambetta daysCharles de Freycinet daysCharles Duclerc daysArmand Fallières daysJules Ferry daysHenri Brisson daysCharles de Freycinet daysRené Goblet daysMaurice Rouvier daysSadi Carnot, President from to , assassinatedPierre Tirard daysCharles Floquet daysPierre Tirard daysCharles de Freycinet daysÉmile Loubet daysAlexandre Ribot daysAlexandre Ribot daysCharles Dupuy daysJean Casimir-Perier daysCharles Dupuy daysJean Casimir-Perier, President from to Charles Dupuy daysFélix Faure, President from to Alexandre Ribot daysLéon Bourgeois daysJules Méline daysHenri Brisson daysCharles Dupuy daysÉmile Loubet, President from to Charles Dupuy daysPierre Waldeck-Rousseau daysÉmile Combes daysMaurice Rouvier daysArmand Fallières, President from to Maurice Rouvier daysFerdinand Sarrien daysGeorges Clemenceau daysAristide Briand daysAristide Briand daysErnest Monis daysJoseph Caillaux daysRaymond Poincaré daysAristide Briand daysRaymond Poincaré, President from to Aristide Briand daysLouis Barthou daysGaston Doumergue daysAlexandre Ribot daysRené Viviani daysRené Viviani daysAristide Briand daysAristide Briand daysAlexandre Ribot daysPaul Painlevé daysGeorges Clemenceau daysAlexandre Millerand daysPaul Deschanel, President from to Alexandre Millerand daysAlexandre Millerand, President from to Georges Leygues daysAristide Briand daysRaymond Poincaré daysRaymond Poincaré daysFrédéric François-Marsal daysGaston Doumergue, President from to Édouard Herriot daysPaul Painlevé daysPaul Painlevé daysAristide Briand daysAristide Briand daysAristide Briand daysÉdouard Herriot daysRaymond Poincaré daysRaymond Poincaré daysAristide Briand daysAndré Tardieu daysCamille Chautemps daysAndré Tardieu daysThéodore Steeg daysPierre Laval daysPaul Doumer, President from to , assassinatedPierre Laval daysPierre Laval daysAndré Tardieu daysAlbert Lebrun, President from to , re-electedÉdouard Herriot daysJoseph Paul-Boncour daysÉdouard Daladier daysAlbert Sarraut daysCamille Chautemps daysÉdouard Daladier daysGaston Doumergue daysPierre-Étienne Flandin daysFernand Bouisson daysPierre Laval daysAlbert Sarraut daysLéon Blum daysCamille Chautemps daysCamille Chautemps daysLéon Blum daysÉdouard Daladier daysÉdouard Daladier daysÉdouard Daladier daysPaul Reynaud1st term daysPhilippe Pétain daysVichy Regime ( – )Philippe Pétain, Head of the French State from to Philippe PétainPierre Laval (Vice-President of the Council)5th termPierre-Étienne Flandin (Vice-President of the Council)2nd termFrançois Darlan (Vice-President of the Council)1st termPierre Laval (Head of Government)6th termProvisional Governments of the French Republic ( – )Charles de Gaulle, President of the Government from to , I and IIFélix Gouin, President of the Government from to , IGeorges Bidault, President of the Government from to , IFourth Republic ( – )Vincent Auriol, President of the Assembly from to Léon Blum (President of the Government) daysVincent Auriol, President from to Paul Ramadier daysRobert Schuman daysAndré Marie daysRobert Schuman daysHenri Queuille daysGeorges Bidault daysHenri Queuille daysRené Pleven daysHenri Queuille daysRené Pleven daysEdgar Faure daysAntoine Pinay daysRené Mayer daysJoseph Laniel daysRené Coty, President from to Joseph Laniel daysPierre Mendès France daysEdgar Faure daysGuy Mollet daysMaurice Bourgès-Maunoury daysFélix Gaillard daysPierre Pflimlin daysCharles de Gaulle days

See also

List of prime ministers of France Prime Minister of France

Notes and references

Bibliography approving the agreement signed on 24 November 1934 between the state and the Office des biens et intérêts privés, relating to the state's waiver of the rights held by the Office over the Hôtel Matignon and the regulation of the works necessary for the installation of the services of the presidency of the council.