HomeNationsFranceHeads of StateLE TOURNEUR,Étienne-François
LE TOURNEUR,Étienne-François

Étienne-François-Louis-Honoré Le Tourneur, dit Le Tourneur (de la Manche)

b. 15 Mar 1751, Granville, Manche, France
d. 4 Oct 1817, Laeken, Kingdom of the Netherlands (now in Belgium)

Title: Membre du Directoire exécutif de la République française (Member of the Executive Directory of the French Republic)
Term: 2 Nov 1795 - 26 May 1797
Chronology: 31 Oct 1795, nomination of fifty candidates for election of five members of the Directoire exécutif (Executive Directory) proclaimed by the Conseil des Cinq-Cents (Council of Five Hundred); the list passed to the Conseil des Anciens (Council of Ancients) [2]
1 Nov 1795, election as a member of the Executive Directory proclaimed by the Council of Ancients, session of the Council, salle des Machines, Palais des Tuileries, Paris [2]
2 Nov 1795, Executive Directory constituted, first meeting of the Executive Directory, Palais du Luxembourg, Paris [2, vol. 1, pp. 1-4]
19 May 1797, chosen to be replaced by lot, meeting of the Executive Directory, Palais du Luxembourg, Paris [3, vol. 1, p. 261], [4]
26 May 1797, functions as a member of the Executive Directory expired with election of successor [3, vol. 1, p. 277], [5]
Names/titles: Surname also spelled as: Letourneur; the order of given names also found as: Charles-François-Louis-Honoré
Président de la Convention nationale (President of the National Convention) (6 Jan 1795 - 20 Jan 1795) [see details]; Président du Directoire exécutif de la République française (President of the Executive Directory of the French Republic) (31 Jan 1796 - 30 Apr 1796, 30 Apr 1797 - 26 May 1797) [see details]
Biography:
Educated as engineer (1770); held the rank of captain since 1778 and was attached to the port of Cherbourg; elected to the Assemblée nationale (National Assembly) (1791-1792) as a deputy for the département of Manche; participated in strengthening the French navy and was transferred to the East Pyrenees army; elected to the Convention nationale (National Convention) (1792-1795), representing the département of Manche; as a Convention member, entered the committee for war and carried out a number of missions in the army and navy; joined the Comité de salut public (Committee of Public Safety) (2 Aug 1795 - 4 Nov 1795) and was put in charge of war affairs and diplomacy; served as President of the National Convention (6 Jan 1795 - 20 Jan 1795); elected (1 Nov 1795) one of the original members of the Directoire exécutif (Executive Directory); two times served as President of the Executive Directory (31 Jan 1796 - 30 Apr 1796, 30 Apr 1797 - 26 May 1797); selected for replacement (19 May 1797) according to the provisions of the Constitution of 1795 and gave up his seat in the Executive Directory (26 May 1797); created brigade general and minister plenipotentiary to negotiate a peace treaty with England at Lille; after the coup of 18 Fructidor (4 Sep 1797), recalled and remained politically inactive; during the Consulate was appointed (2 Mar 1800) préfet of Loire-Inférieure; retired in the rank of general (1802), granted a pension and named a councilor in the court of audits; banished as regicide (1816) and died in exile. Biography source: [6]

Elections:

Candidate Vote (1 Nov 1795)
Louis-Marie de La Revellière-Lépeaux 216
Étienne-François-Louis-Honoré Le Tourneur 189
Jean-François Reubell 176
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès 156
Jean-Nicolas-Paul-François Barras 129
45 others less than 129
total votes cast 218
Election result source: [1]

[1] Gazette nationale ou Le Moniteur universel, No. 45, 15 brumaire an IV.
[2] Recueil des Actes du Directoire exécutif (Procès-verbaux, arrêtés, instructions, lettres et actes divers)", published by Antonin Debidour in "Collection de documents inédits sur l'histoire de France publiés par les soins du ministre de l'Instruction publique (Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1910-1917).
[3] Les procès-verbaux du Directoire exécutif, an V - an VIII. Inventaire des registres des delibérations et des minutes des arrêtés, lettres et actes du Directoire faisant suite au Recueil des actes du Directoire exécutif d'Antonin Debidour, ed. by Pierre-Dominique Cheynet (Paris: Centre historique des Archives nationales, 2000-).
[4] Gazette nationale ou Le Moniteur universel, No. 244, 4 prairial an V.
[5] According to the Law of 19 May 1797 (30 floréal an V), Le Tourneur was authorized to stay in office until 10 Prairial, Year V (29 May 1797) inclusively, but he gave up his seat as a member of the Executive Directory upon receiving the news on election of his successor (François-Marie Barthélemy).
[6] Dictionnaire des parlementaires français 1789-1889,
Image: portrait by Jean-Baptist-François Desoria, c. 1795-1797.