Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, duc de Parme
Date of Birth
October 18, 1753
Date of Death
March 8, 1824
About
A jurist and Convention deputy from the Hérault, Cambacérès sat with the Plain and devoted much of his work to questions of law and government. During the trial of Louis XVI, he voted for death while also supporting a reprieve, proposing that the execution be deferred while the war continued. As president of the Committee of Legislation, he presented three successive draft civil codes between 1793 and 1796. None was adopted in full, but they formed an important stage in the work that led to the Civil Code of 1804. Cambacérès later served as Second Consul and, under the Empire, as archchancellor.