Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain

Who was Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain?

Louis Phélypeaux, marquis de Phélypeaux, comte de Maurepas, comte de Pontchartrain, known as the chancellor de Pontchartrain, was a French politician.

After serving as head of the Parlement of Brittany, he held office as Controller-General of Finances and as Navy Secretary and, from 1690, Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi.

Long considered a failure, his reputation has been reevaluated by recent historiography which has shown that, in a period of difficulty, he was a capable administrator of an immense department which had responsibility for the French Navy, trade, colonies, matters of religion, Paris, the royal household and for finances. He conducted a census of the population from 1693 onwards, the first since Vauban's of 1678. At court he was an opponent of Fénelon and the Quietists.

Nonetheless, his handling of the French Navy, a powerful force under Colbert and Seignelay, is criticised, and he is considered to be in part responsible for the defeat at the battles of Barfleur and La Hougue in 1692.

Phélypeaux served as Chancellor of France from 5 September 1699 to 1 July 1714. Historian François Bluche wrote that "he gave the Chancellor's office an importance and authority not seen since the early years of Pierre Séguier." Saint-Simon painted a flattering portrait of Phélypeaux in his diaries, and his discretion was appreciated by Louis XIV.