CHOISEUL, Étienne François, Duke of. - French statesman (1719-85). Having first devoted himself to a military career, he fought valiantly in the War of the Austrian Succession. By supporting the intrigues of the favourite, Madame de Pompadour, he secured her favour and in 1754 was appointed ambassador to Rome, where he remained until 1757. In this office he succeeded in reaching an agreement with Benedict XIV on the thorny issue that had been agitating part of the French clergy regarding the refusal to grant sacramental absolution to those among the appellants against the bull *Unigenitus* who refused to submit and acknowledge their disobedience. The bull of Benedict XIV, *Ex omnibus*, was published on 16 October 1756, and with it the political importance of the Jansenists in France came to an end.
From 1757 to 1758 Choiseul was ambassador to Vienna and worked to strengthen the Franco-Austrian alliance that reversed previous policy in order to direct it against Prussia. In November 1758 he replaced the Abbé de Bernis as Foreign Minister; in 1761 he also took charge of the War Ministry and the following year that of the Navy. For twelve years he was the true governor of France and worked to tighten the "Family Compact" between the Bourbon dynasties, which aimed at the suppression of the Jesuits, in which he played a major part. A friend of Voltaire, he was among those who considered religion good only for the common people. He deemed it politically expedient to steer France towards acquiring a large colonial empire in rivalry with England, and succeeded; he also annexed Corsica and Lorraine.
Having incurred the enmity of the new favourite, Madame du Barry, he was exiled by Louis XV to his estate at Chanteloup, where he remained from 1770 to 1774, a victim of court intrigues. He died financially ruined because of his extravagant lifestyle.