born May 13, 1753, Nolay, Burgundy, France
died Aug. 2, 1823, Magdeburg, Prussian Saxony
French statesman and administrator in successive governments of the French Revolution .
He entered the army as an engineer (1773) and was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1791. As a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety and the Directory , he helped mobilize the Revolutionary armed forces and matériel, and he was lauded as the "Organizer of Victory." During the Coup of 18 Fructidor he fled France to escape arrest. He returned after Napoleon rose to power and served him in various offices, including minister of the interior during the Hundred Days .