Adolphe Billault
(1805-1863)

Originally a lawyer in Nantes, from 9 March 1852 to 12 November 1854 Billault was President of the Corps législatif. He succeeded Persigny as Minister of the Interior in 1854, entering the Senate shortly afterwards. During his term in office as a minister, surveillance of the press was less oppressive than under Maupas and Persigny.