Sieyès (Emmanuel Joseph)

Sieyès (Emmanuel Joseph) (Fréjus, 1748 Paris, 1836), french politician. Vicar-general of Chartres in 1787, he is well known for his questioning of "What is the Third Estate?" (1789), his satirical lampoon on the aspirations of those in the Third Estate, of which he formed part during his stint in the French Estates General. Co-author of the Tennis Court Oath and co-founder if the Jacobin Club (which he soon left to join the Order of the Feuillants), and he was one of the less vocal members of the signing of the Constitution. He played an active role in the Council of Five-Hundred, and was a member of the Directory in 1799. He lent his support to Bonaparte and was in support of the coup d'Etat on the 18th of the month of Brumaire (month in the French Republican calendar). He became a member of the Provisional Council and the main author of the Constitution of the Year VIII (which Bonaparte reinterpreted to suit his needs), and was accused of regicide, resulting in this being exiled between 1816 1830. Acad. fr. (1803). Engraving. (Photo by: Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)