List of Naval Ministers of France
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One of France's Secretaries of State under the ancien régime was entrusted with control of the French Navy (Secretary of State of the Navy (France). In 1791, this title was changed to Minister of the Navy. Before the 1890s, this position also usually had responsibility for France's colonies, and was usually known as Minister of the Navy and Colonies. In 1947 the naval ministry was absorbed into the Ministry of Defence.
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[edit] History
The two French royal fleets (the Ponant fleet and Levant fleet) were put under the control of Colbert from 1662, whilst he was "intendant des finances" and "minister of state" -- but not "secretary of state" : he only became secretary of state in 1669 after having bought his way into the post. From then on, right up to the French Revolution, a secretary of state had responsibility for the fleet.
The secretary of state was responsible for the administration of both the navy (the "marine royale") and civilian (merchant marine) fleets, and for all France's ports, arsenals, consulates, and colonies, as well as the guardianship for all her commercial companies.
To his two original offices (the bureau du Ponant and bureau du Levant) other services were added over time:
- archives department, 1669 ;
- office of the Ponant consulates, 1709 ;
- office of the colonies, 1710 ;
- bureau des classes, 1711 ;
- department of maps and plans, 1720 ;
- Office of the Levant Consulates, 1738, which was in 1743 merged with the Office of the Ponant Consulates under the name of Office of Commerce and Consulates
These different offices and departments were regrouped into four super-departments by marshal de Castries in 1786.
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| Secretary | Began | Ended |
| Cosme Clausse, seigneur de Marchaumont | 14 September 1547 | 1558 |
| Florimond II Robertet de Fresne | 1558 | October 1567 |
| Claude de l’Aubespine, seigneur d’Hauterive | 1 April 1547 | 1567 |
| Jacques Bourdin, seigneur de Villeines | 1558 | 1567 |
| Martin Ruze, seigneur de Beaulieu | 15 September 1588 | 6 November 1613 |
| Antoine de Loménie, seigneur de la Ville aux Clercs | 7 November 1613 | 10 August 1615 (he left the post on this date, but retained the precedence and the functions) |
| Henri Auguste de Loménie, seigneur de la Ville aux Clercs | 13 July 1615 | February 1643 |
| Henry de Guénegaud, marquis de Plancy | 23 March 1643 | 1662 |
| Hugues de Lionne, marquis de Fresne | 4 February 1662 | 1669 |
| Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay | September 1683 | 3 November 1690 |
| Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain | November 1683 | ? |
| Jérôme Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain | 6 September 1699 | 1 October 1715 |
| Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse and Victor Marie d'Estrées (Presidents of the Council of Marine) | 1 October 1715 | 24 September 1718 |
| Joseph Jean Baptiste Fleuriau d'Armenonville | 24 September 1718 | 28 February 1722 |
| Charles Jean-Baptiste Fleuriau, comte de Morville | 28 February 1722 | 16 August 1723 |
| Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, comte de Maurepas | 16 August 1723 | 23 April 1749 |
| Antoine Louis Rouillé | 30 April 1749 | 24 July 1754 |
| Jean Baptiste de Machault D'Arnouville | 24 July 1754 | 1 February 1757 |
| François Marie Peyrenc de Moras | 1 February 1757 | 31 May 1758 |
| Claude Louis d'Espinchal, marquis de Massiac | 31 May 1758 | 31 October 1758 |
| Nicolas René Berryer | 31 October 1758 | 13 October 1761 |
| Étienne François, duc de Choiseul | 13 October 1761 | 10 April 1766 |
| César Gabriel de Choiseul-Chevigny, duc de Praslin | 10 April 1766 | 24 December 1770 |
| Joseph Marie Terray | 24 December 1770 | 9 April 1771 |
| Pierre Étienne Bourgeois de Boynes | 9 April 1771 | 20 July 1774 |
| Anne Robert Jacques Turgot | 20 July 1774 | 24 August 1774 |
| Antoine de Sartine | 24 August 1774 | 13 October 1780 |
| Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix, marquis de Castries | 13 October 1780 | 24 August 1787 |
| Armand Marc, comte de Montmorin Saint-Hérem | 25 August 1787 | 24 December 1787 |
| César Henri, comte de La Luzerne | 24 December 1787 | 13 July 1789 |
| Arnaud de Laporte | 13 July 1789 | 16 July 1789 |
| César Henri, comte de La Luzerne | 16 July 1789 | 26 October 1790 |
