Joseph Fouché, duke d’Otrante summary

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Joseph Fouché, duke d’Otrante, (born May 21, 1758?, Le Pellerin, near Nantes, France—died Dec. 25, 1820, Trieste), French police organizer. In the French Revolution he was elected to the National Convention and voted for Louis XVI’s death. He was sent on missions to the provinces to ensure their loyalty, and in Lyon he ordered the massacre of rebels. He became minister of police in 1799; he supported Napoleon’s Coup of 18–19 Brumaire and subsequently organized the secret police. Though Napoleon made him duke d’Otrante in 1809, he had intrigued against Napoleon from 1807. He was dismissed after ordering a levy of the national guard (1809) but was brought back several times to undertake missions for Napoleon. He was minister of police during the Hundred Days and later president of a provisional government, but he was ultimately exiled as a regicide in 1816.

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