(The following is a post by Taru Spiegel, reference specialist, European Division.) During his lifetime, and for quite some time after that, the legendary French politician and diplomat, Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838), was a much-discussed, controversial figure both at home and abroad. He managed to survive, and significantly influence, conflicting trends during the French ...
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (/ ˈtælɪrænd ˈpɛrɪɡɔːr /; [1] French: [ʃaʁl mɔʁis də tal (ɛ)ʁɑ̃ peʁiɡɔʁ, moʁ-]; 2 February 1754 – 17 May 1838), 1st Prince of Benevento, then Prince of Talleyrand, was a French secularized clergyman, statesman, and leading diplomat. After studying theology, he became Agent-General of the Clergy in 1780. In 1789, just before the ...
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, prince de Bénévent , prince de Bénévent was a French statesman and diplomat noted for his capacity for political survival, who held high office during the French Revolution, under Napoleon, at the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, and under King Louis-Philippe.
During one of the most turbulent periods of European history, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand rose to power thanks to his natural ability to negotiate. He was born into the declining prestige of the French aristocracy, began life as a minor nobleman and cleric, and yet became one of the most influential diplomats of his age.
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (born , in Paris, France—died , in Paris), was a defrocked French Bishop, diplomat, foreign minister, and politician. Alternately renowned and reviled for his tactical skills of political survival, Talleyrand served at the highest levels of the French government for nearly half a century during the reign of King Louis XVI, the French ...