Undersecretary of State (France)

In France the Undersecretary of State (sous-secrétaire d'État) was a governmental role created during the Hundred Days and institutionalized in 1816. It served as an administrative and, later, political assistant to ministers, evolving significantly across the country's political regimes until being replaced by the title of Secretary of State under the Fifth Republic.

The role was created in France during the Hundred Days, with the first two Undersecretaries of State appointed to Foreign Affairs under the Napoleon I government of the Hundred Days. The institution was formalized by an ordinance on May 9, 1816, which allowed a Undersecretary of State (or more than one, if necessary) to be attached to a minister. Each minister held the title of Minister-Secretary of State (e.g., Minister-Secretary of State for the Interior). The mission of the Undersecretary of State covered the entire administration of the ministry, delegated by the minister.

Except during the Second French Empire, subsequent regimes up to and including the Fourth Republic maintained the principle of Undersecretaries of State. However, there were not always Undersecretaries of State in every government, and their numbers varied greatly from one government to another.

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