Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683)

Jean-Baptiste Colbert was the de facto "First Minister" of Louis XIV after the death of Cardinal Mazarin. Having been appointed Intendant of Finances in 1661, his powers and areas of responsibility were extended in the subsequent years to encompass central aspects of state administration, including trade, communications, manufacturing, the navy, colonies, and the arts and sciences.

Raymond Gayrard (1777–1858), Statue of Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683), stone, 1857, Cour Napoléon of the Louvre, photographer: Marie-Lan Nguyen, 2008; source: Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colbert_cour_Napoleon_Louvre.jpg?uselang=en,  Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en.