Politician who moved from the revolutionary triumvirate to the Feuillants
He joined the Third Estate in 1789 but, through the triumvirate and the Feuillants, sought to stabilise the Revolution behind a constitutional monarchy; when the monarchy fell in 1792 he emigrated.
An aristocratic officer and veteran of the American War of Independence, Lameth joined the Third Estate in 1789 and supported the abolition of privilege. He formed the “triumvirate” with Barnave and Duport before becoming a Feuillant defender of constitutional monarchy. After exile and return, he served as a prefect under Napoleon and later as a liberal deputy.
Also known as: Alexandre-Théodore-Victor de Lameth
Activities and affiliations
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1789–1791
Political and party leadership
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1789–1792
FeuillantsMain
Political and party leadership -
Consulate and First Empire state institutionsPrefect of Basses-Alpes, Rhin-et-Moselle, Roer and Pô
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1777–1785Entered the king's bodyguard corps and served as a cavalry officer; in 1782 he fought in the American War of Independence as a colonel under Rochambeau.
- 1789Elected deputy of the nobility of Péronne to the Estates-General, he rallied to the Third Estate and was among the promoters of the abolition of privilege on the night of 4 August.
- 1789–1791With Barnave and Duport he formed the triumvirate leading the Assembly's left; on 20 November 1790 he was elected president of the Assembly.
- 1791–1792A founding Jacobin and then a Feuillant leader defending constitutional monarchy; promoted maréchal de camp in the Army of the North in May 1792, he crossed to the enemy with Lafayette on 10 August and was interned by Austria.
- 1800–1814Returning to France, he served as prefect of the Basses-Alpes, Rhin-et-Moselle, Roer and Pô, was made a Baron of the Empire in 1810, and became lieutenant general and prefect of the Somme in 1814.
- 1820–1827Under the Restoration he sat as a liberal opposition deputy for Seine-Inférieure and then Seine-et-Oise, fighting the Villèle ministry.
Related historical events
Revolutionary choices and political context
Lameth was an aristocratic officer, yet in 1789 he joined the Third Estate and supported abolition of privilege. This shows that social origin did not automatically determine a position on revolution. His route through the triumvirate and Feuillants, however, sought to stabilise the Revolution by limiting monarchy within a constitution.
His exile and return, service as a Napoleonic prefect, and later liberal parliamentary career show how principles from 1789 continued in different forms through empire and restoration. The careers of revolutionary participants did not end with one fixed choice between republic and monarchy.