Jean d'Ormesson

Jean d'Ormesson studied at Lycée Henri-IV, École Normale Supérieure and Cours Hattemer. The recorded working language is French. Employment is recorded with Le Figaro, Paris Match and Ouest-France. Positions recorded include president and general secretary. Works named in the authority record are The Glory of the Empire. Distinctions recorded are Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française, Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, Commander of the French Order of Academic Palms and Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres.

• Honorific Prefix — Count • Birth Name — Jean Bruno Wladimir François-de-Paule Lefèvre d'Ormesson • Born — 16 June 1925 • Birthplace — 7th arrondissement of Paris, France • Died — 5 December 2017 • Place of death — Neuilly-sur-Seine, France • Resting Place — Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris • Occupation — Writer, columnist, reporter, philosopher, newspaper director • Language — French • Education — Lycée Henri-IV • Alma Mater — École normale supérieure • Notable Works — Au revoir et merci (1966) The Glory of the Empire (1971) Au plaisir de Dieu (1974) Dieu, sa vie, son œuvre (1981) C'était bien (2003) C'est une chose étrange à la fin que le monde (2010) • Spouse — Françoise Béghin • Children — Héloïse d'Ormesson • Awards — Académie Française (seat 12) Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour

Jean d'Ormesson was born on 16 June 1925 in Paris into an aristocratic family; he was a count. His father, André Lefèvre, Marquis of Ormesson, was the French ambassador to Brazil. D'Ormesson grew up in Bavaria, Romania and Brazil. He also spent time at the Château de Saint-Fargeau. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, and later called himself a secular Catholic, but not an atheist. D'Ormesson attended preparatory school at the Lycée Henri-IV, and he was admitted to the École normale supérieure; he subsequently passed the agrégation in Philosophy.

D'Ormesson was the author of more than forty books, including novels and plays. His first novels, L'amour est un plaisir, Un amour pour rien, Les illusions de la mer, were unsuccessful. His The Glory of the Empire received the Grand Prix du roman from the Académie française in 1971. His next novel, Au plaisir de Dieu, was made into a television film. His work was published in Bibliothèque de la Pléiade in 2015, while he was still alive. D'Ormesson became Secretary-General of the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies at UNESCO, and the director of the conservative French newspaper Le Figaro from 1974 to 1979. D'Ormesson self-identified as conservative. On 18 October 1973, d'Ormesson was elected a member of the Académie française, taking seat 12, following the death of Jules Romains, in 1973. On the death of Claude Lévi-Strauss on 30 October 2009, he became the Dean of the Académie, its longest-serving member. D'Ormesson was a Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, and an officer of the National Order of Merit. In 2010, he was awarded the Ovid Prize, Romania, in recognition of his body of work.

D'Ormesson married Françoise Béghin in 1962. They had a daughter, Héloïse, an editor. On 5 December 2017, Jean d'Ormesson died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, at the age of 92. A national tribute was paid on 8 December 2017 in Les Invalides, where French President Emmanuel Macron gave a speech; former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande were also in attendance.

• 2012: Les saveurs du Palais (also known as Haute Cuisine) as Le Président, directed by Christian Vincent • 2018: Michel Déon ou la force de l'amitié directed by Jérémie Carboni (documentary)