# Minister of Police (France)

The Minister of Police (French: Ministre de la Police) was the leader and most senior official of the French Ministry of Police. It was a position in the Government of France from 1796 to 1818 and briefly from 1852 to 1853.

## History

The office was created on 2 January 1796 by taking police powers away from the Minister of Interior and giving them to the new Minister of Police. The move was motivated by an apparent overload of the Interior department. The first minister, Philippe-Antoine Merlin, was appointed two days later, as Armand-Gaston Camus refused the office. The most famous minister was Joseph Fouché, whose service spanned over a decade.
It was a major French ministerial position under the Directory, Consulate, First Empire, and Restored Bourbon Dynasty. The position was merged into the Ministry of Interior in 1818, although it was briefly restored by Napoleon III in 1852.

## Officeholders
### First Republic

| No. | Portrait | Name | Name | Term | Term | Term | Government | Head of State | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Time in office | | | Government | Head of State | Ref. |
| Ministry established ||||||||||
| | | | Armand-Gaston Camus | 2 January 1796 12 Nivôse Year IV | 4 January 1796 14 Nivôse Year IV | 2 days | Directory | Directory | |
| 1 | | | Philippe-Antoine Merlin | 4 January 1796 14 Nivôse Year IV | 3 April 1796 14 Germinal Year IV | 90 days | Directory | Directory | |
| 2 | | | Charles Cochon de Lapparent | 3 April 1796 14 Germinal Year IV | 16 July 1797 28 Messidor Year V | 1 year, 104 days | Directory | Directory | |
| 3 | | | Jean-Jacques Lenoir-Laroche | 16 July 1797 28 Messidor Year V | 26 July 1797 8 Thermidor Year V | 10 days | Directory | Directory | |
| 4 | | | Pierre Jean-Marie Sotin de La Coindière | 26 July 1797 8 Thermidor Year V | 13 February 1798 25 Pluviôse Year VI | 202 days | Directory | Directory | |
| 5 | | | Nicolas Dondeau | 13 February 1798 25 Pluviôse Year VI | 16 May 1798 27 Floréal Year VI | 92 days | Directory | Directory | |
| 6 | | | Marie Jean François Philibert Lecarlier | 16 May 1798 27 Floréal Year VI | 29 October 1798 8 Brumaire Year VII | 166 days | Directory | Directory | |
| 7 | | | Jean-Pierre Duval | 29 October 1798 8 Brumaire Year VII | 23 June 1799 5 Messidor Year VII | 237 days | Directory | Directory | |
| 8 | | | Claude Sébastien Bourguignon | 23 June 1799 5 Messidor Year VII | 20 July 1799 2 Thermidor Year VII | 27 days | Directory | Directory | |
| 9 | | | Joseph Fouché | 20 July 1799 2 Thermidor Year VII | 18 May 1804 28 Floréal Year XII | 4 years, 303 days | Directory | Directory | |
| 9 | | | Joseph Fouché | 20 July 1799 2 Thermidor Year VII | 18 May 1804 28 Floréal Year XII | 4 years, 303 days | Consulate | Napoléon Bonaparte | |

### First Empire

| No. | Portrait | Name | Name | Term | Term | Term | Government | Emperor | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Time in office | | | Government | Emperor | Ref. |
| (9) | | | Joseph Fouché Duc d'Otrante | 18 May 1804 | 3 June 1810 | 6 years, 16 days | Napoléon | Napoléon I | |
| 10 | | | Anne Jean Marie René Savary Duc de Rovigo | 3 June 1810 | 3 April 1814 | 3 years, 304 days | Napoléon | Napoléon I | |

### Restoration

| No. | Portrait | Name | Name | Term | Term | Term | Government | King | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Time in office | | | Government | King | Ref. |
| 11 | | | Jules Anglès | 3 April 1814 | 13 May 1814 | 40 days | Provisional Government | Louis XVIII | |
| 12 | | | Jacques Claude Comte Beugnot | 13 May 1814 | 3 December 1814 | 244 days | Restoration | Louis XVIII | |

### Hundred Days

| No. | Portrait | Name | Name | Term | Term | Term | Government | Emperor | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Time in office | | | Government | Emperor | Ref. |
| 13 | | | Joseph Fouché Duc d'Otrante | 20 March 1815 | 23 June 1815 | 95 days | Hundred Days | Napoléon I | |
| 14 | | | Jean Pelet Comte de la Lozère | 23 June 1815 | 7 July 1815 | 14 days | Hundred Days | Napoléon I | |

### Kingdom of France

| No. | Portrait | Name | Name | Term | Term | Term | Government | King | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Time in office | | | Government | King | Ref. |
| 15 | | | Joseph Fouché Duc d'Otrante | 9 July 1815 | 26 September 1815 | 79 days | Talleyrand-Périgord | Louis XVIII | |
| 16 | | | Élie Louis Duc Decazes | 26 September 1815 | 29 December 1818 | 3 years, 94 days | Richelieu | Louis XVIII | |

### Second Republic

| No. | Portrait | Name | Name | Term | Term | Term | Government | President | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Time in office | | | Government | President | Ref. |
| 17 | | | Charlemagne de Maupas | 22 January 1852 | 21 June 1853 | 1 year, 150 days | Napoléon II – III | Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte | |
| Ministry disestablished ||||||||||