Jacques Necker Biography

Jacques Necker (IPA: [ʒak nɛkɛʁ]; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a banker of Genevan origin who became a French statesman and finance minister for Louis XVI. He held the finance post during the period 1777-1781 and helped make decisions that were critical in creating political and social conditions that contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789. "Necker is remembered today for taking the unprecedented step in 1781 of making public the country’s budget, a novelty in an absolute monarchy where the state of finances had always been kept a secret." He was recalled to royal service just before the Revolution actually did start, but remained in office for only a brief period of time. His elder brother was the mathematician Louis Necker (1730–1804).