Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French lawyer and politician, Foreign Minister of France (b. 1717)
Charles Gravier, Count of Vergennes (French pronunciation: [vɛʁ.ʒɛn]; 29 December 1719 – 13 February 1787) was a French statesman and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister from 1774 during the reign of Louis XVI, notably during the American War of Independence.
Vergennes rose through the ranks of the diplomatic service during postings in Portugal and Germany before receiving the important post of Envoy to the Ottoman Empire in 1755. While there he oversaw complex negotiations that resulted from the Diplomatic Revolution before being recalled in 1768. After assisting a pro-French faction to take power in Sweden, he returned home and was promoted to foreign minister.
Vergennes hoped that by giving French aid to the American revolutionaries he would be able to weaken British dominance of the international stage, in the wake of that kingdom's victory over France in the recent Seven Years' War. Alliance with the revolutionaries produced mixed results for France as, despite helping to defeat Britain and secure American independence, he extracted little material gain from the war and the costs of fighting further damaged the already weakened French royal finances in the years before the French Revolution.
In part as a result of his efforts in crafting the American alliance, Vergennes became a dominant figure in French politics during the 1780s. He died on the eve of the revolution in his own nation.