Guillaume de Lamoignon de Blancmesnil

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Guillaume II de Lamoignon, seigneur de Blancmesnil et de Malesherbes was a French magistrate who was born in Paris in 1683 and died in 1772.

[edit] Biography

The second son of the president Chrétien François de Lamoignon, he was named general advocat for the Parlement of Paris on July 2, 1707 and then became président à mortier to the same parlement on December 20, 1723. He was the Premier président to the Cour des aides from May 9, 1746 to 1749.

He was an excellent lawyer and loved literature and history. He had impeccable morals (which was rather infrequent in the Parlements of Paris), and rejected Jansenism.

He was named Chancellor of France (without the seal which was trusted earlier to Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville) on December 9, 1750, replacing Henri François d'Aguesseau, who had quit. The parlementary revolt was thus his paroxysm, and Lamoignon, far from losing authority, as is usually said, difficultly supported these coups.

As the King had finished tolerating the weak will of his chancellor he demanded for Lamoignon's resignation. When Lamoignon refused he was exiled to his château on October 3, 1763.

He was the father of Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes (1721-1794).

[edit] Residences

• Paris:
  • Until 1750, Hôtel d'Angoulême Lamoignon, 24 Rue Pavée. (Today it is the historical library of Paris.)
  • 1750-1768, Hôtel de la Chancellerie, 13 Place Vendôme. (Today it is the Ministry of Justice.)
• Château de Malesherbes in Malesherbe (the present département of Loiret), bought in 1718 from Alexandre d'Illiers d'Entragues.