French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes

E36397

French statesman diplomat foreign minister human

Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, was an influential 18th-century French statesman and diplomat who served as Louis XVI’s foreign minister and played a key role in securing French support for the American Revolution.

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All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes	6
Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes (as later major foreign minister; earlier predecessors varied)	1
Comte de Vergennes	1
French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes canonical	1
comte de Vergennes	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T280638 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes
Context triple: [Treaty of Amity and Commerce (1778), negotiatedWith, French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes]

A. Cardinal de Bernis
Cardinal de Bernis was an 18th-century French cardinal and diplomat best known for orchestrating France’s alliance with Austria that reshaped European politics before the Seven Years’ War.
B. Cardinal Richelieu
Cardinal Richelieu is a powerful and cunning 17th-century French statesman and clergyman, often depicted in literature and film as a master political strategist and formidable antagonist.
C. Cardinal Mazarin
Cardinal Mazarin was a 17th-century Italian-born French statesman and cardinal who effectively governed France during the minority of Louis XIV, consolidating royal power and continuing the policies of Cardinal Richelieu.
D. Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz
Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz was an influential 18th-century Austrian statesman and diplomat who served as Maria Theresa’s chief minister and architect of Habsburg foreign policy.
E. Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a 17th-century French statesman and finance minister under King Louis XIV, known for strengthening royal power and developing mercantilist economic policies.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes
Target entity description: Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, was an influential 18th-century French statesman and diplomat who served as Louis XVI’s foreign minister and played a key role in securing French support for the American Revolution.

A. Cardinal de Bernis
Cardinal de Bernis was an 18th-century French cardinal and diplomat best known for orchestrating France’s alliance with Austria that reshaped European politics before the Seven Years’ War.
B. Cardinal Richelieu
Cardinal Richelieu is a powerful and cunning 17th-century French statesman and clergyman, often depicted in literature and film as a master political strategist and formidable antagonist.
C. Cardinal Mazarin
Cardinal Mazarin was a 17th-century Italian-born French statesman and cardinal who effectively governed France during the minority of Louis XIV, consolidating royal power and continuing the policies of Cardinal Richelieu.
D. Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz
Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz was an influential 18th-century Austrian statesman and diplomat who served as Maria Theresa’s chief minister and architect of Habsburg foreign policy.
E. Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a 17th-century French statesman and finance minister under King Louis XIV, known for strengthening royal power and developing mercantilist economic policies.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	French statesman ⓘ diplomat ⓘ foreign minister ⓘ human ⓘ
burialPlace	Versailles ⓘ
countryOfCitizenship	Kingdom of France ⓘ
dateOfBirth	1719-12-29 ⓘ
dateOfDeath	1787-02-13 ⓘ
diplomaticPost	French ambassador to Sweden ⓘ French ambassador to the Ottoman Empire ⓘ
educatedAt	Jesuit college in Dijon ⓘ
employer	French Ministry of Foreign Affairs ⓘ French crown ⓘ
endTime	tenure as Foreign Minister of France ended in 1787 ⓘ
influenced	Securing French support for the American Revolution ⓘ surface form: French intervention in the American War of Independence
knownFor	directing French foreign policy under Louis XVI ⓘ opposition to British power in Europe ⓘ securing French support for the American Revolution ⓘ
language	French ⓘ
memberOf	French nobility ⓘ
monarch	Louis XVI of France ⓘ
nobleTitle	French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: comte de Vergennes
notableWork	French support for the American Revolution ⓘ Treaty of Paris (1783) ⓘ surface form: Peace of Paris (1783) Treaty of Alliance (1778) ⓘ Treaty of Amity and Commerce (1778) ⓘ
occupation	diplomat ⓘ politician ⓘ statesman ⓘ
participantIn	American Revolutionary War ⓘ diplomatic negotiations of the Peace of Paris (1783) ⓘ
placeOfBirth	Dijon ⓘ Duchy of Burgundy ⓘ
placeOfDeath	Kingdom of France ⓘ Versailles ⓘ
politicalAlignment	anti-British foreign policy ⓘ pro-American during the American Revolution ⓘ
positionHeld	Foreign Minister of France ⓘ Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ⓘ
religion	Roman Catholicism ⓘ
residence	Paris ⓘ Versailles ⓘ
sibling	Jean Gravier, marquis de Vergennes ⓘ
spouse	Anne Duvivier ⓘ
startTime	tenure as Foreign Minister of France began in 1774 ⓘ
supported	American colonists against Great Britain ⓘ
workedWith	Benjamin Franklin ⓘ Conrad Alexandre Gérard ⓘ John Adams ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (10)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Treaty of Amity and Commerce (1778) → negotiatedWith → French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes ⓘ

Silas Deane → associatedWith → French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes ⓘ

this entity surface form: Comte de Vergennes

French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes → nobleTitle → French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes self-linksurface differs ⓘ

subject surface form: Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes

this entity surface form: comte de Vergennes

Duke of Choiseul for France → predecessorAsForeignMinister → French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes ⓘ

subject surface form: Duke of Choiseul

this entity surface form: Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes (as later major foreign minister; earlier predecessors varied)

Securing French support for the American Revolution → keyFrenchOfficial → French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes ⓘ