Pierre Magne
(1806-1879)

The son of a dyer, Magne was born in Périgueux (Dordogne) on 3 December 1806. In 1830 he obtained his license to practice law and was called to the bar in Périgueux. In 1843 he was elected a deputy of the département and under Guizot, he headed the legal department of the Ministry of Finances.

Under the Second Empire, he was appointed Minister of Public Works on 9 January 1851; he became Minister of Finances on 3 February 1855. On 26 November 1860 he became a Minister without portfolio. On 30 March 1863 he was named a Privy Councillor and on 13 November 1867, after the death of Achille Fould, he returned to government and resumed his prior position as Minister of Finances, a position he held until the appointment of Emile Ollivier on 2 January 1870. He returned twice more to this post, briefly in the government of Cousin-Montauban, and from May 1873 to July 1874 under MacMahon. He was elected senator of his département in 1876.