Talleyrand Born: France's Supreme Political Survivor

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand survived revolution, empire, and restoration by mastering the art of political reinvention, serving as France's chief diplomat under five successive regimes. Born on February 2, 1754, into one of France's most ancient noble families, he was pushed into the priesthood because a childhood foot injury made a military career impossible. He became Bishop of Autun in 1789, supported the early stages of the French Revolution, helped draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and voted for the nationalization of Church property before being excommunicated by the Pope. He fled to America during the Terror, returned to France after Robespierre's fall, and maneuvered himself into the position of Foreign Minister under the Directory. He recognized Napoleon's potential early and helped engineer the coup of 18 Brumaire that brought Napoleon to power. As Napoleon's Foreign Minister, he negotiated the treaties that redrew the map of Europe, including the Treaty of Luneville and the Concordat with the Pope. He broke with Napoleon over the invasion of Spain and the continental system, secretly communicating with Napoleon's enemies while still serving in the French government. When Napoleon fell, Talleyrand negotiated the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy and then represented France at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, where his diplomatic skill was extraordinary: he arrived representing a defeated, occupied nation and left having restored France to the concert of great powers with its territorial integrity largely intact. His negotiation at Vienna established the balance-of-power framework that kept Europe relatively stable for a century. He served as ambassador to Britain under Louis-Philippe and died on May 17, 1838, at eighty-four, having outlasted every regime he served and betrayed.