Necker, Jacques

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Necker, Jacques (1732–1804) French financier and statesman, b. Switzerland. A Protestant banker, he was finance minister (1776–81) under Louis XVI. Dismissed, he was recalled to deal with a financial crisis in 1788 and advised calling the States-General. The political demands of the Third Estate caused Necker's second dismissal, but the consequent riots, leading to the storming of the Bastille, forced Louis XVI to reappoint him. Unable to prevent the French Revolution, he resigned in 1790.

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