Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, Duc de. Born in Paris, 1585. French cardinal and statesman. Became bishop of Lucon in 1607. In 1615, entered the service of the Queen-mother, Marie de'Medici and, in 1616, became secretary of state for war and foreign affairs. He followed Marie de'Medici to Blois (1617), and was exiled to Avignon, but was soon afterwards recalled, and effected a reconciliation between the king and queen, receiving as his reward a cardinal's hat. In 1624, he became chief minister, an office which he retained until his death in 1642. During this period, he established the absolute power of the king, and crushed the Calvinistic Party, although he was led by political motives to support the Protestants in Germany.

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