France: Cardinal de Richelieu (1585-1642), French bishop, politician and statesman. Oil on canvas, Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674), c. 1635

Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal-Duke of Richelieu and of Fronsac (September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly referred to as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman, noble and statesman. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1607 and was appointed Foreign Secretary in 1616.

Richelieu soon rose in both the Catholic Church and the French government, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642; he was succeeded by Cardinal Mazarin, whose career he had fostered.

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