Jean Louis de Lolme

Who was Jean Louis de Lolme?

Jean-Louis de Lolme was a Swiss and English political theorist and writer on constitutional matters, born in the then semi-independent city of Geneva. As an adult he moved to England, and became a British subject. His most famous work was Constitution de l'Angleterre, which was subsequently published in English as well. In it, de Lolme advocated a constitutional form of government enshrining the principle that monarchy, aristocracy and democracy should be balanced against each other. He also praised the element of representative democracy in the constitution, and urged an extension of suffrage. The work influenced many of the framers of the United States Constitution.