1-157-582 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, French soldier and statesman, c1830. Created Marshal of France by Napoleon in 1804, Soult (1769-1851) commanded the French forces in Spain and Portugal in the Peninsular War (1809-1814). After Wellington's victory in Spain, Soult fashioned a political career for himself. He held various offices, including that of Prime Minister on three occasions. A political opportunist, he constantly reinvented himself as a Bonapartist, royalist or republican depending on the political climate prevailing in France at the time.