Lawyer, consultant, thinker, and legislator, Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis (1746–1807) has often been presented as a leading jurist, in a vein similar to that of Domat and Pothier. After receiving an eclectic education under the Ancien Régime, which mixed philosophy and Romano-canon law, the lawyer from Aix shone under the Consulate and the Empire in the role of state counsel tasked with drafting the Civil Code, before rising to become minister for religion. Recognized as the father of the Civil Code, Portalis left his mark with a series of compromises between revolution and reaction. Furthermore, as the constructor of religious peace, he was responsible for implementing the Concordat and ensuring that the future emperor had the support of both the Holy See and French Catholics alike. Portalis’s career paved the way for civil and religious peace in the aftermath of the Revolution. A man of the Enlightenment and a traditionalist, conservative, and a sociologist, Portalis showed himself to be a liberal Catholic, yet deeply rooted in the traditions of Old France, despite being much more orientated towards progress in a changing society.