Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal-Duke of Richelieu and of Fronsac (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly referred to as Cardinal Richelieu ( ), was a French clergyman, nobleman, and statesman. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1607 and was appointed Foreign Secretary in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Catholic Church and the French government, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642; he was succeeded by Cardinal Mazarin, whose career he had fostered.