July Monarchy premier who as chief executive in 1871 crushed the Paris Commune and became the Third Republic’s first president
After ordering the suppression of the Paris Commune in 1871, Thiers secured the early departure of German troops from French territory, then resigned in 1873 amid monarchist opposition.
A lawyer and journalist from Marseille who made his name with a History of the French Revolution, he helped bring Louis-Philippe to the throne in 1830 and served the July Monarchy as interior minister and premier, putting down the Lyon silk workers’ and Paris risings of 1834. Under the Second Empire he led the liberal opposition. The National Assembly made him chief executive in February 1871; when the seizure of the Montmartre cannon failed on 18 March he moved the government to Versailles and crushed the Commune in Bloody Week. President from August 1871, he paid off the German indemnity early but was forced out by the monarchist Assembly in 1873.
Career timeline
- 1823–1827Published his ten-volume History of the French Revolution, establishing his reputation as a historian.
- 1836Served as prime minister under the July Monarchy.
- 1840Served as prime minister under the July Monarchy.
- 1871–1873Served as president of the French Third Republic.
Marshal captured at Sedan who led the Versailles army against the Paris Commune and became the president of “Moral Order”
As commander of the Versailles army, he led the suppression of the Paris Commune in May 1871. Elected president in 1873, he headed a “Moral Order” government; after Republicans won a parliamentary majority in 1877, he resigned in 1879.
A soldier from a family of Irish descent, he won his marshal’s baton and dukedom in the conquest of Algeria, the storming of the Malakoff in the Crimea and at Magenta in 1859. In 1870 he led the Army of Châlons to relieve Metz and was wounded and captured with the emperor at Sedan. Released by Germany, he commanded Thiers’s Versailles army, entered Paris in May 1871 and directed the repression and mass executions of Bloody Week. Succeeding Thiers as president in 1873, he led a “Moral Order” government awaiting a restoration, lost the 1877 confrontation with parliament and resigned in 1879.
Career timeline
- 1827Entered the French Army.
- 1855Won the Battle of Malakoff during the Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War.
- 1859Contributed to the French victory at Magenta and was made Marshal of France and Duke of Magenta.
- 1864Was appointed Governor General of Algeria.
- 1870Commanded French forces in the Franco-Prussian War and was wounded and captured with Napoleon III at Sedan.
- 1871Became commander of the Versailles army under President Thiers and led the suppression of the Paris Commune in May.
- 1873Was elected president of the French Third Republic and pursued “Moral Order” policies.
- 1877–1879After conflict with parliament and a Republican victory in the 1877 election, resigned as president in 1879.
