Gaudinâs description of Napoleon
Martin-Michel Gaudin was Napoleonâs Minister of Finance. He entered the world of finance at the age of 17 and achieved the highest rank a non-aristocrat could achieve in finance administration pre-Revolution (âfirst clerkâ). During the Revolution, he was the Commissioner of the National Treasury. He left government in 1795 and resisted further governmental recruiting attempts until Napoleon (who he had never met) approached him in 1799. Gaudin describes their first meeting in his memoir:
I found a personage who was known to me only by the high reputation he had already acquired; of low stature, dressed in a gray frock coat, extremely thin, yellow complexion, eagle-eyed, with lively movements [...] he came to me with the most gracious air.
âYou have,â he said, âworked in finance for a long time?â
âTwenty years, General!â
âWe need your help badly, and Iâm counting on it. Come on, take your oath, weâre in a hurry.â
This formality completed, he added: âThe last minister of the Directory will be informed of your appointment. Meet in two hours at the ministry to take possession of it, and provide a report on our situation as soon as you can, as well as on the first measures to be taken to restore the service which is lacking everywhere. Come see me this evening at my house on rue de la Victoire (thatâs what rue Chantereine was then called), we will discuss our business more fully.â
I withdrew to carry out the orders I had just received.
(Source: Gaudin, Mémoires, souvenirs, opinions et écrits du duc de GaÚte, pp. 45-46)
Historian Pierre Branda on their partnership:
âIntuition, good advice or genius? Bonaparteâs choice was judicious, because Gaudin would successfully occupy this ministerial post for the entire duration of the Consulate and the Empire, including the Hundred Days. With such longevity, he was undoubtedly one of Napoleonâs most appreciated ministers. It is true that the two men were often in perfect agreement.â
(Source: Le prix de la gloire: NapolĂ©on et lâargent, pp. 197)
















