Controller-General of Finances - History

History

The term "contrôleur général" in reference to a position of royal accounting and financial oversight had existed in various forms prior to 1547, but the direct predecessor to the 17th century "Controller-General" was created in 1547, with two position-holders whose job was to verify the accounts of the Royal Treasurer (trésor de l'Épargne), who was at that time the head of the royal financial system. Their name came from the account book, or contre-rôle, in which they kept their accounts. The office was thus, in the beginning, not a high administrative or governmental position, but merely an accounting position. In the period following 1547, the financial administration in France continued to change, resulting in the creation of intendants of finances (created in 1552), of which one was to become the Superintendent of Finances (1561). Also

In 1661, the last Superintendent of Finances, Nicolas Fouquet, was arrested and Jean-Baptiste Colbert became head of the royal financial administration, first with the title of "intendant", then, from 1665, with the title of "contrôleur général des finances". Under Colbert's administration, the Controller-General's responsibilities were greatly redefined. Louis XIV suppressed the two positions of Controllers-general, replacing these with a single office, but this position was no longer transmissible; the king could revoke the commission at his pleasure. In addition, the position was far more behoven to the Royal Finance Counsel (Conseil royal des finances). In these ways, the position of Controller-General became a true governmental post.

The function of Controller-General would continue until 1791, with an interruption during the Polysynody (1715-1718).

Occasionally, the de facto Minister of Finance served instead as "President of the Royal Council of Finance", who was superior to a mere Controller-General, or, in the case of Jacques Necker, who, as a Protestant, could not serve as Controller-General, as "Director-General of Finances" ("directeur général du Trésor royal", and "directeur général des finances", 1776 - 1781, 1788 - 1790), a less prominent position.

The position was renamed Minister of Finances in 1791 which, along with all other ministerial positions, was abolished in 1794, but restored with the advent of the Directory in 1795.