DROUYN DE LHUYS, EDOUARD, an eminent French diplomatist and politician, was b. at Paris, Nov. 19,1805, and studied at the college of Louis-le-Grand and the ecole de Droit. He was at first attached to the embassy at Madrid, whither he proceeded in 1830. In 1840, he was placed at the head of the commercial department under the minister of foreign affairs, and shortly after was elected depute for Melun; but taking a part hostile to the government, of which he was a subordinate member, he was deprived of his situation by M. Guizot. This gave him fuller scope for the advocacy of his political opinions. He now became an active member of the Reforms party, and after the famous banquet of the 12th arrondissement had been interdicted, be signed, along with the other chiefs of the opposition, the accusation drawn up against 31. Guizot and his colleagues. Elected representative of the people to the constituent and legislative assemblies, by the department of Seine-et-Marne, he was made first a member and then president of the committee of foreign affairs. Here he acted generally with the moder
ate party. In the first cabinet formed by Louis Napoleon after his election to the presidency (Dec., 1848), he became minister of foreign affairs, and directed the French policy in all the difficult European complications of the year. In 1849, lie went to London for a short time as ambassador, and after the coup d'etat became one of the vice presidents of the imperial senate, and again minister of foreign affairs. Being disap pointed at the issue of the Vienna conferences in 1855, he resigned his office. In 1863, he was recalled to his old post, resigning again in 1866. On the fall of the empire, he fled for a time to Jersey.