Jules Grévy

President of France

15 August 1807 Mont-sous-Vaudrey, French Empire

9 September 1891(1891-09-09) (84) Mont-sous-Vaudrey, French Republic

30 January 1879 – 2 December 1887

French lawyer and politician François Judith Paul Grévy (15 August 1807 – 9 September 1891), known as Jules Grévy (French pronunciation: ​ ), was a French lawyer and politician who served as President of France from 1879 to 1887, and was one of the leaders of the Moderate Republican faction. Given that his predecessors were monarchists who tried without success to restore the French monarchy, Grévy is considered the first real Republican President of France. Born in a small town in the Jura Mountains, Grévy initially followed a legal career in Paris before turning to republican activism. He began his political career as a representative in the National Assembly of the French Second Republic, where he became known for his opposition to Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte and as a supporter of lesser authority for the executive power. After Bonaparte's 1851 coup d'état he left political life He returned to prominence following the downfall of the Second French Empire and the reestablishment of the republican regime. After occupying high offices in the National Assembly and the Chamber of Deputies, Grévy was elected president of France in 1879. Elected for a second term in 1885, he was compelled to resign two years later due to a political scandal involving his son-in-law, though Grévy himself was not implicated. His nearly nine years as president are seen as the consolidation of the French Third Republic.