Louvois, François-Michel Le Tellier, marquis de
Louvois, François-Michel Le Tellier, marquis de
(baptized Jan. 18, 1639, Paris, France—died July 16, 1691, Versailles) French secretary of state for war under Louis XIV and his most influential minister (1677–91). The son of Michel Le Tellier (1603–85), one of the most powerful officials in France, he was groomed by his father to replace him as war secretary. A brilliant administrator, Louvois brought his father's military reforms to fruition, making the French army one of the most formidable in Europe. He was complicit in the military policy that led up to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), and was also responsible for the destruction of the Palatinate (1688), which led to the War of the Grand Alliance.
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