Walewski, Alexandre-Florian-Joseph Colonna, count

(1810-1868)

   political figure

   The natural son of napoléon i and Marie, countess Walewska, Alexandre-Florian-Joseph Colonna, count Walewski was born in Walewice, near Warsaw, Poland. A Pole, he was sent to London to support the cause of Polish independence from Russia after the insurrection of 1830. That uprising having been checked, Walewski went to France, where he was naturalized and, joining the military, took part in the conquest of Algeria (1834). He then left his military career for the theater and journalism and started a newspaper, Le Messager. Charged with diplomatic missions by the july monarchy government, he continued in the diplomatic service during the second republic and the second empire. Minister plenipotentiary to Florence, then to Naples, ambassador to spain then to Great Britain, he was named foreign minister (1855-60) and presided over the Congress of Paris (1856). Count Walewski broke with napoléon ш over the issue of the latter's policy toward Italy (the Italian question, 1859).