Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve
French politician (1756-1794)
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve (3 January 1756 – 18 June 1794) was a French writer and politician who served as the second mayor of Paris, from 1791 to 1792, and the first regular president of the National Convention in 1792. During the French Revolution, he was associated with the moderate Girondins, and voted against the immediate execution of Louis XVI at the king's trial in January 1793, though he supported a suspended sentence. This led to Pétion's proscription by the Convention alongside other Girondin deputies following the radical insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793, and ultimately his suicide together with fellow-Girondin François Buzot while evading arrest during the Terror.
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Jean-Urbain Guérin | |
| 1st President of the National Convention | |
| In office 20 September 1792 – 4 October 1792 | |
| Preceded by | Louis XVI (King of France) |
| Succeeded by | Jean-François Delacroix |
| 2nd Mayor of Paris | |
| In office 18 November 1791 – 15 October 1792 | |
| Preceded by | Jean Sylvain Bailly |
| Succeeded by | Philibert Borie (temporary mayor) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 January 1756 Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, France |
| Died | 18 June 1794 (aged 38) Saint-Magne-de-Castillon, near Saint-Émilion, Gironde, France |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Nationality | French |
| Political party | Girondist |
| Occupation | Writer, politician |
| Signature |  |