René de Voyer, seigneur d’Argenson (1596–1651) was a French diplomat.
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Biography
René de Voyer was the grandson of René de Voyer, seigneur de Paulmy et de la Roche de Gennes, and Jeanne Gueffault, dame d'Argenson. His father, Pierre, was the head of the comtes d'Argenson branch of the family. He was born on 21 November 1596.
René de Voyer was a lawyer by profession and held several significant positions throughout his career. He became successively avocat, councillor at the parlement de Paris, maître des requêtes, and councillor of state. Cardinal Richelieu entrusted him with various missions as inspector and intendant of the forces. In 1623, he was appointed intendant of justice, police, and finance in Auvergne, and in 1632, he held a similar office in Limousin, where he remained until 1637.
After the death of Louis XIII in 1643, René de Voyer retained his administrative posts. He served as intendant of the forces at Toulon (1646), commissary of the king at the estates of Languedoc (1647), and intendant of Guienne (1648), demonstrating considerable skill in defending the authority of the crown against the rebels of the Fronde. Following his wife’s death, he took holy orders in February 1651 but continued to be involved in state affairs. In 1651, he was appointed by Mazarin as ambassador to Venice, where he died on 14 July 1651. He was buried in the church of San Giobbe in Venice, with a tomb created by Thomas Blanchet.
Family
René de Voyer had seven children. His eldest son, Marc-René de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson (1623–1700), succeeded him as French ambassador to Venice. Among his other children was Pierre de Voyer d'Argenson, vicomte de Mouzay, who served as governor general of New France.
Works
De la Sagesse chrétienne (On Christian Wisdom, 1640) — a work translated into many languages.