Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The hotel of Brienne was built in the 18th century in the Faubourg Saint-Germain, at the initiative of the Marquise de Prie, the mistress of the Duke of Bourbon. After his disgrace in 1726, the project was taken over by the Marquise de La Vrillière and then by the Princess of Conti, who carried out important decorative transformations under the direction of architect Simonnet. The hotel, then named Hotel de Conti, was transferred in 1776 to the Count of Brienne, Secretary of State for War, giving him his current name.

Confiscated during the Revolution, the hotel will house the Trade Commission before being returned, then sold in 1798 to François Séguy, a military entrepreneur. After work led by architect Lavoyepierre, he passed into the hands of Lucien Bonaparte in 1802, who re-engineered him before giving him over to his mother, Letizia Ramolino, then becoming the palace of Madame, mother of the Emperor.

Repurchased by the State in 1817, the Hotel de Brienne became the official residence of the Ministers of War and then of Defence. It was the framework for the strategic decisions of Clemenceau in 1917 and De Gaulle in 1944-1946, whose offices were preserved. Ranked a historic monument in 1993, it remains today a political symbol, despite the transfer of departmental services to the Balard site in 2015.

The hotel retains a protocol function, always housing the cabinet of the Minister of the Armed Forces because of its proximity to the National Assembly. Its history reflects the French political upheavals, from the Ancien Régime to the Fifth Republic.

Future

The Hotel de Brienne is home to the offices of the Minister of the Armed Forces, while the infrastructure of the Ministry of the Armed Forces is now located at the Balard site.

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