Louis Jules Mancini, 4th (and last) Duke of Nevers (Louis Jules Barbon; 16 December 1716 – 25 February 1798) was a French diplomat and writer.
The Duke was the sixth member elected to occupy seat No. 4 of the Académie française in 1742. In England, he was styled Duke of Nivernois.
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Early life
Mancini was born in Paris, son of Philippe Jules François Mancini (the 3rd duke of Nevers from 1707 until his death in 1768), and his wife, Anna Maria Spinola, whom he married in 1709. His father, Philippe, was a great-nephew of Cardinal Mazarin and a great-grandson of the famous beauty Gabrièlle de Rochechouart de Mortemart, sister of Madame de Montespan.
Mancini was educated at Lycée Louis le Grand.
Career
The Duke joined the French Army serving in the Italian campaigns (1733) and in Bohemia (1740); but, he had to give up soldiering on account of weak health. In 1738, he sold property including the Château de Druyes to Louis Damas, Marquis of Anlezy.
He was subsequently French Ambassador to Rome from 1748 to 1752, to Berlin from 1755 to 1756, and London, where he negotiated the Treaty of Paris, signed on 10 February 1763. From 1787 to 1789 he was a member of the Council of State. He chose not to emigrate during the Revolution, which led to the loss of all his money and he was imprisoned in 1793. He regained his liberty after the fall of Maximilien Robespierre, and died in Paris on 25 February 1798.