César Gabriel de Choiseul
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César Gabriel de Choiseul, duc de Praslin (August 15, 1712 - November 15, 1785) was a French officer, diplomat and statesman.
On April 30, 1732, he was married with Anne Marie de Champagne de Villaines de la Suze.
After having served in the Army, he was appointed in 1756 ambassador in Vienna, to emperor Francis I and to queen Maria Theresa of Hungary. In 1761, he was plenipotentiary to the Augsburg convention.
From October 13, 1761 to April 8, 1766, he served as Secretary of State (minister) for Foreign Affairs, replacing in this office his cousin Étienne de Choiseul (who became in 1763 Secretary of State for War and for Navy). He was Lieutenant general of the Armies. In 1763, he was made duke of Praslin and peer of France. He negotiated the peace that ended the Seven Years' War and was Louis XV's plenipotentiary for the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris, which he signed, on February 10, 1763.
From April 10, 1766 to December 24, 1770, he served as Secretary of State for the Navy (his cousin Étienne then taking back the department of Foreign Affairs in addition to that of War). During his term in office, he restorated the strength of the Navy, which had been severely damaged during the Seven Year's War. After the death, in 1764, of Mme de Pompadour, who had been their protector, the position of César Gabriel and his cousin Étienne was undermined. He fell from grace in Louis XV's court and withdrew from public affairs in 1770, at the height of the Falkland Crisis involving Britain and Spain. He was replaced at the Navy by abbé Terray.
His titles included marquis of Choiseul, count of Chevigny and of La Rivière, viscount of Melun and of Vaux, baron of La Flèche and of Giry, lord of Chassy. He was made knight of Saint-Esprit on January 1, 1762. He was made an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences on December 15, 1769.
Praslin Island, one of the Seychelles, was named after him.
