Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Jean-Baptiste Colbert (French: [ʒɑ̃.ba.tist kɔl.bɛʁ]; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the country's politics and markets, known as Colbertism, a doctrine often characterized as a variant of mercantilism, earned him the nickname le Grand Colbert ([lə ɡʁɑ̃ kɔl.bɛʁ]; "the Great Colbert"). A native of Reims, he was appointed Intendant of Finances on 4 May 1661. Colbert took over as Controller-General of Finances, a newly created position, in the aftermath of the arrest of Nicolas Fouquet for embezzlement, an event that led to the abolishment of the office of Superintendent of Finances. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Jean-Baptiste Colbert has received more than 1,106,413 page views. His biography is available in 52 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 49 in 2019). Jean-Baptiste Colbert is the 497th most popular politician (up from 714th in 2019), the 216th most popular biography from France (up from 293rd in 2019) and the 56th most popular French Politician.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the minister of finance under King Louis XIV. He is most famous for the mercantilist policies he enacted during his time in office, which were designed to promote France's economic growth and power.