DUBOIS, GUILLAUME. - French cardinal and politician, b. at Brives-la-Gaillarde on 6 Sept. 1656, d. at Versailles on 10 Aug. 1723. Having interrupted the ecclesiastical career on which he had embarked, he was tutor to Philip of Orléans, then duke of Chartres.
When the latter, on the death of Louis XIV, was proclaimed regent for the young Louis XV, D. became a member of the Council of State, where, though no longer young, he displayed tireless activity in the dispatch of foreign-policy affairs. His principal objective was to safeguard the Peace of Utrecht of 1713 against Philip V of Spain and the latter's prime minister Cardinal Alberoni, through the establishment of an anti-Spanish alliance among France, England and Holland. The Triple Alliance, thanks to his skill, became a fact in 1718 and, having been transformed shortly afterwards into a Quadruple Alliance through the adherence of Austria, brought Spain to her knees after a brief struggle and forced her, by the treaty of The Hague of 1720, to desist from any further attempt. In northern Europe D.'s policy led in 1721 to peace among Sweden, Denmark and Russia.
In 1721 he was elected cardinal by Innocent XIII, who could not resist the insistences of the court of France. A year earlier he had received Holy Orders and had even succeeded, by skillful maneuvering, in having himself appointed bishop of Cambrai. In 1722 he was invested with the much-coveted office of prime minister, which he retained until his death.
D. was judged very harshly by his contemporaries, who censured his ambition and his absolute lack of scruples.
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Giuseppe De Rosa