Montesquieu (1689-1755) was a French jurist and bourgeois enlightenment thinker. Born on January 18, 1689, into an aristocratic family in Labret, near Bordeaux, France.

In 1716, he inherited the title of Baron and served as President of the Court of Bordeaux.

He moved to Paris in 1726. In 1728, he joined the French Academy of Sciences and spent another three years traveling to European countries to gain an in-depth understanding and investigation of the political laws, national systems, and customs of various countries.

In 1734, his "On the Causes of the Rise and Fall of Rome" was published, which caused a sensation throughout Europe.

In 1748, he published "On the Spirit of Law"(also translated as "The Meaning of Law"). In this article, he believes that the spirit and content of the law are crucial for every country. The means to ensure the rule of law is "separation of powers", that is, legislative power, executive power and judicial power belong to three different state organs, and the three restrict each other and have balanced power. The "separation of powers" theory had a significant impact on the constitution-making work in the United States and France at the end of the 18th century, and became the basic principle of the bourgeois political system and legislative thought.

February 10, 1755MontesquieuHe died of illness in Paris at the age of 66.