Fleury, André-Hercule de

Fleury, André-Hercule de

(born June 22, 1653, Lodève, France—died Jan. 29, 1743, Paris) French cardinal and chief minister of Louis XV (1726–43). A priest, he was made almoner (distributor of alms) for Louis XIV. In 1715 he was appointed tutor for the future Louis XV, who later created Fleury a cardinal and minister of state (1726). Domestically, Fleury restored economic and financial stability to France; in foreign policy, his efforts prevented the hostilities between Spain and Britain in 1727 from becoming a European conflict. Drawn into the War of the Polish Succession (1733–38) on the side of Stanislaw I, Louis's father-in-law, he was able to limit the conflict's scope.