Biography of Treilhard, Jean-Baptiste - Archontology
HomeNationsFranceNational ConventionTreilhard, Jean-Baptiste
Treilhard, Jean-Baptiste

Jean-Baptiste Treilhard

b. 3 Jan 1742, Brive, Corrèze
d. 1 Dec 1810, Paris

Title: Président de la Convention nationale (President of the National Convention)
Term: 27 Dec 1792 - 10 Jan 1793
Chronology: 27 Dec 1792, elected, session of the Convention, Salle du Manège, Paris [1]
28 Dec 1792, assumed the chair, session of the Convention, Salle du Manège, Paris [2]
10 Jan 1793, ceased to exercise the functions of office upon the election of a successor [3][4]
Names/titles: Comte Treilhard, comte de l'Empire (count Treilhard, count of the Empire) [from 24 Apr 1808]
Other offices: Président de l'Assemblée nationale (President of the National Assembly) [20 Jul 1790 - 1 Aug 1790] (see details);
Membre du Directoire exécutif de la République française (Member of the Executive Directory of the French Republic) [20 May 1798 - 17 Jun 1799] (see details);
Président du Directoire exécutif de la République française (President of the Executive Directory of the French Republic) [24 Aug 1798 - 27 Nov 1798] (see details)
Biography:
Studied law and became an advocate in the Parlement of Paris (1761); was a protégé of Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, future comptroller general of finance (1774-1776) under King Louis XVI; was entrusted to handle juridical affairs of the Condé family; served as inspector general of the Crown domain; elected (15 May 1789) as a representative of the Third Estate by the constituency of Paris to the États-Généraux (Estates-General); deputy of the Assemblée nationale (National Assembly) (1789-1791); presented a report concerning the dissolution of religious orders and transfer of its property to the nation (17 Dec 1789); was elected President of the National Assembly (20 Jul 1790 - 1 Aug 1790); chaired the Criminal Tribunal of the département of Paris (1791-1792); elected to the Convention nationale (National Convention) as a representative of Seine-et-Oise (1792-1795); member of Convention committees (war, finance, estates, liquidation); served as a secretary of the National Convention (29 Nov 1792 - 13 Dec 1792), President of the National Convention (27 Dec 1792 - 10 Jan 1793) during the trial of Louis XVI; voted for death sentence and against reprieve; named commissioner to the army of Belgium (16 Jan 1793) and commissioner to the army of La Rochelle (30 Apr 1793); elected a member of the Comité de salut public (Committee of Public Safety) (7 Apr 1793 - 12 Jun 1793); sent on a mission to Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne (decree of 17 Jun 1793, recalled 20 Jul 1793); was arrested and imprisoned, but eventually survived the Jacobin terror; after the fall of the Jacobin dictatorship, again appointed to the Committee of Public Safety (31 Jul 1794 - 5 Nov 1794, 4 May 1795 - 2 Aug 1795); elected to the Corps législatif in 10 départements (1795); selected to sit in the Conseil des Cinq-Cents (Council of Five Hundred) (27 Oct 1795 - 19 May 1797); served as President of the Council of Five Hundred (22 Dec 1795 - 23 Jan 1796); nominated consul at Naples (15 May 1797), but refused to take this post (25 Aug 1797); appointed to serve as a judge of the Tribunal of Cassation (6 Sep 1797 - 23 Oct 1797); appointed minister plenipotentiary (8 Sep 1797) to conduct negotiations with Great Britain at Lille; appointed minister plenipotentiary at Naples (letter of appointment of 23 Oct 1797); before assuming his post at Naples he was made one of the ministers plenipotentiary at the Congress of Rastadt (nominated 27 Oct 1797, appointed 8 Nov 1797) with Napoléon Bonaparte as president of the French legation; attended the Congress of Rastadt (Nov 1797 - May 1798); elected (15 May 1798) to the Directoire exécutif (Executive Directory) to replace Nicolas-Louis François de Neufchâteau; arrived to Paris from Rastadt (22 May 1798); served as President of the Directory (24 Aug 1798 - 27 Nov 1798); election as a Directory member was voided by resolution of the Conseil des Anciens (Council of Ancients) (17 Jun 1799) on grounds of ineligibility; during the Consulate was appointed vice president (4 Apr 1800) and president (1 Jan 1802) of the Tribunal of Appeals of the Seine département; entered the Conseil d'Etat (Council of State) and was appointed minister of state (30 Mar 1809 - 1 Dec 1810).
Biographical sources: Dictionnaire des parlementaires français 1789-1889, 5:441-442; Dictionnaire des Conventionnels, 590-591.
Elections:

Candidate Votes (27 Dec 1792)
Jean-Baptiste Treilhard 268
voters 417
Source of electoral results: Archives parlementaires - Série 1, 55:727; Procès-verbal de la Convention nationale, 4:426.

[1] Archives parlementaires - Série 1, 55:727; Procès-verbal de la Convention nationale, 4:426.
[2] Archives parlementaires - Série 1, 56:1.
[3] Archives parlementaires - Série 1, 56:723.
[4] Treilhard did not preside at the last session (10 Jan 1793, evening) which elected his successor. Ancien président Jacques-Joseph Defermon chaired this meeting. See Archives parlementaires - Série 1, 56:723.