Choiseul, Étienne-François de Choiseul, duke de

(born June 28, 1719, Lorraine, France—died May 8, 1785, Paris) French foreign minister. He served with distinction in the War of the Austrian Succession. After serving as ambassador to the Vatican (1753–57) and to the Austrian court, he was made a duke and named minister of foreign affairs (1758), in which position he came to dominate the government of Louis XV. In 1761 he concluded a military alliance with Spain (the “Family Compact”), and at the end of the Seven Years' War he negotiated the best terms for a defeated France. He rebuilt France's military strength but was dismissed from office in 1770 for advocating war against Britain.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica