Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles (, 20 September 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French judge, freemason and politician who took part in the French Revolution. Origins and early career Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles was born in Paris into a noble and well-known family. His grandfather was René Hérault, who had served as Lieutenant General of Police of Paris between 1725 and 1739. His great-grandfather was Jean Moreau de Séchelles (1690–1760), who had served as Controller-General of Finances between 1754 and 1756 and had given his name to the Seychelles archipelago. Jean Moreau de Séchelles's daughter, Hélène Moreau de Séchelles (1715–1798), was the second wife of René Hérault. Most authors, however, consider that René Hérault was not the biological grandfather of Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles. His biological grandfather was most likely Louis Georges Érasme de Contades (1704–1795), Marshal of France, who had an affair with Hélène Moreau de Séchelles during her marriage to René Hérault. Hélène Moreau de Séchelles gave birth to a son in 1737, Jean-Baptiste Martin Hérault de Séchelles - the father of Marie-Jean, who died in 1759, at the Battle of Minden, where Contades was commanding the French army. Contades took care of Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles after the early death of his father. He had arranged to marry his illegitimate son Jean-Baptiste Martin Hérault de Séchelles to his wife's niece, so that he might present himself in society as the "uncle" of Marie-Jean. Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles was also the first cousin of the famous Duchess of Polignac, the friend and confidant of Queen Marie Antoinette. The Duchess of Polignac, who would later be the object of deep revolutionary disapprobation, was the daughter of Jeanne Charlotte Hérault (1726–1753 or 1756), herself the daughter of René Hérault and his first wife. Finally, he was also the nephew of Claude-Henri Feydeau de Marville, Lieutenant General of Police of Paris between 1739 and 1747, who had married Marie-Jean's aunt - the second daughter of René Hérault and his first wife. Hérault de Séchelles made his debut as a lawyer at the Châtelet of Paris, the city's civil and criminal court. At the age of twenty, he became King's Advocate (a position similar to Advocate General) at the Châtelet, in part due to the aid of the Duchess of Polignac. Associates of the Polignac family presented him to the queen, who pushed his appointment as Advocate General at the prestigious