orig. Giulio Raimondo Mazarini
born July 14, 1602, Pescina, Abruzzi, Kingdom of Naples
died March 9, 1661, Vincennes, France
Italian-French cardinal and statesman.
A member of the papal diplomatic service (162734), he negotiated an end to the War of the Mantuan Succession between France and Spain. He served as papal nuncio to the French court (163436), where he admired cardinal de Richelieu . He worked for French interests in the papal court, then entered the service of France and became a naturalized French citizen (1639) and a cardinal (1641). After the deaths of Richelieu (1642) and Louis XIII (1643), Mazarin was appointed first minister of France by Anne of Austria , regent for Louis XIV , and he directed Louis's education. A highly influential adviser to the young king, he helped train a staff of able administrators. His foreign policy established France's supremacy among the European powers, effecting the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659). A patron of the arts, Mazarin founded an academy of painting and sculpture and compiled a large library.
Jules Cardinal Mazarin, detail of a portrait by Philippe de Champaigne; in the Musée ...
Courtesy of the Musee Conde, Chantilly, Fr.; photograph, Giraudon/Art Resource, New York