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France: Presidents of the National Legislative Assembly: 1791-1792

Doyen
1 Oct 1791 - 3 Oct 1791 Claude Batault (president by age)
Président de l'Assemblée nationale [1]
3 Oct 1791 - 17 Oct 1791 Charles-Emmanuel-Joseph-Pierre Pastoret
17 Oct 1791 - 30 Oct 1791 Jean-Baptiste-Louis Ducastel
30 Oct 1791 - 15 Nov 1791 Pierre-Victurnien Vergniaud
15 Nov 1791 - 28 Nov 1791 Vincent-Marie Viénot de Vaublanc
28 Nov 1791 - 10 Dec 1791 Bernard-Germain-Etienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède
10 Dec 1791 - 26 Dec 1791 Pierre-Édouard Lemontey
26 Dec 1791 - 8 Jan 1792 Nicolas-Louis François de Neufchâteau
8 Jan 1792 - 22 Jan 1792 Jean-Antoine d'Averhoult
22 Jan 1792 - 5 Feb 1792 Marguerite-Élie Guadet
5 Feb 1792 - 19 Feb 1792 Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet
19 Feb 1792 - 4 Mar 1792 Gabriel-Mathieu Dumas
4 Mar 1792 - 18 Mar 1792 Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, dit Guyton-Morveau
18 Mar 1792 - 2 Apr 1792 Arnaud Gensonné
2 Apr 1792 - 15 Apr 1792 Claude Dorizy
15 Apr 1792 - 29 Apr 1792 Félix-Julien-Jean Bigot de Préameneu
29 Apr 1792 - 13 May 1792 Jean-Gérard Lacuée
13 May 1792 - 27 May 1792 Honoré Muraire, seigneur de Favas
27 May 1792 - 10 Jun 1792 François-Alexandre Tardiveau
10 Jun 1792 - 24 Jun 1792 Antoine-François de Nantes
24 Jun 1792 - 8 Jul 1792 Stanislas-Louis-Cécile-Xavier de Girardin
8 Jul 1792 - 23 Jul 1792 Jean-Baptiste-Annibal Aubert du Bayet, dit Aubert-Dubayet
23 Jul 1792 - 7 Aug 1792 André-Daniel Laffon de Ladébat, dit Laffon-Ladébat
7 Aug 1792 - 19 Aug 1792 Jean-François-Honoré Merlet
19 Aug 1792 - 2 Sep 1792 Jean-François Delacroix, dit Lacroix
2 Sep 1792 - 16 Sep 1792 Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles
16 Sep 1792 - 21 Sep 1792 Joseph Cambon
History:


Traditional representative assembly of the three estates, the États-Généraux (Estates-General), opened at Versailles on 5 May 1789; after holding sessions as separate bodies (clergy, nobility, commons), the Third Estate, styling itself Les Communes, abstained from constituting as a chamber, but proclaimed themselves (17 Jun 1789) Assemblée nationale (National Assembly); prevented from entering their meeting hall (salle des Menus Plaisirs) by order of King Louis XVI, the Assembly held its session in an indoor tennis court (salle du Jeu de Paume) and swore an oath (20 Jun 1789) to continue its deliberations until adoption of a constitution; joined by 150 deputies of the clergy and 47 deputies of the nobility; during the "royal session" (23 Jun 1789) refused to obey the king's order to adjourn to their own hall; commonly known as Assemblée nationale constituante (Constituent National Assembly) from 9 Jul 1789, when it started working on the Constitution; abolished feudalism (4 Aug 1789); passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (26 Aug 1789); moved to Paris (19 Oct 1789); declared freedom of the press (20 Jan 1790); abolished monastic vows (13 Feb 1790); passed (12 Jul 1790) the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (sanctioned 20 Dec 1790); after the news of the king's flight became known to the deputies, the Assembly passed a resolution empowering the minister of justice to attach the State Seal to the assembly's decrees without consent of the king (21 Jun 1791), thus suspending one of the principal royal prerogatives; authorized ministers and other state officials to exercise executive authority (25 Jun 1791); suspension of the royal functions was extended (16 Jul 1791) until the constitutional act is presented to the king; the Assembly exercised full legislative and executive authority until 14 Sep 1791, when the king swore an oath to maintain the Constitution and regained his functions as head of the executive power; accomplished the drafting of the Constitution (3 Sep 1791); declared its mission as being accomplished and held the last session on 30 Sep 1791. In accordance with the Constitution of 1791, the National Assembly as legislative body convened on 1 Oct 1791; deputies swore allegiance to the nation (4 Oct 1791); as anti-revolutionary forces sought for support outside of France and the Austrian army menaced invasion of France, the Assembly declared war against Austria (20 Apr 1792); decreed to deport dissident clergymen (27 May 1792, vetoed by the king); failed to prevent popular invasion of the Tuileries Palace (20 Jun 1792); called for volunteers in response to invasion of Austrian and Prussian armies; received (3 Aug 1792) the message of the Parisian sections demanding deposition of the king; after the storming of the Tuileries (10 Aug 1792), passed a decree and declared the king suspended; ordered the election of a National Convention and imprisoned Louis XVI and the royal family; held its last meeting on 21 Sep 1792 and closed the session after 12 commissioners appointed by the National Convention arrived to announce that the Convention had been constituted.


[1] The official style as appearing in the documents issued by the Assembly and contemporary publications was Assemblée nationale (17 Jun 1789 - 21 Sep 1792). However, a general convention achieved by historians distinguishes between the Assemblée nationale constituante (Constituent National Assembly) [9 Jul 1789 - 30 Sep 1791] and Assemblée nationale législative (Legislative National Assembly) [1 Oct 1791 - 21 Sep 1792], though such styles did not exist in contemporary formal practice. The beginning of the constituante period refers not to the proclamation of the Constituent National Assembly, which actually never took place, but to the report of Jean-Joseph Mounier (9 Jul 1789) on basic principles for elaboration of the Constitution.