Etienne Charles de Lomenie

Loménie de Brienne was appointed Controller-General of Finances by King Louis XVI to address the mounting national debt. He succeeded Calonne and faced the same fiscal crisis, with the treasury near bankruptcy and the privileged classes resisting tax reform.

Brienne attempted to reform the French judicial system by reducing the power of the Parlements, which had blocked tax reforms. His edicts provoked widespread opposition, leading to the 'Day of the Tiles' in Grenoble and the convocation of the Estates-General.

Facing insurmountable opposition, Brienne agreed to convene the Estates-General for May 1789, the first such meeting since 1614. This decision, intended to solve the fiscal crisis, instead triggered the French Revolution.

After failing to stabilize finances and facing mounting unrest, Brienne resigned as chief minister in August 1788. He was replaced by Necker and retired to his diocese, but his policies had already set the stage for the revolutionary crisis.

During the Reign of Terror, Brienne was arrested by the Revolutionary Tribunal. He was convicted of conspiracy against the Republic and guillotined in Paris on February 22, 1794, becoming one of the many victims of the French Revolution.