The Prefect of Ain is the highest state representative in the department of Ain on the East border of France. Its seat is in Bourg-en-Bresse.

The office was created in 1800 under Napoléon Bonaparte, then First Consul of the French First Republic, to ensure the representation of the state in the departements and the full application of the national law. Under the Fifth Republic, the powers of a Prefect are governed by article 72 of the Constitution, completed by Law 1992-125 and Decrees 2004-374 and 2010–146.

List of Prefects of Ain Term startTerm endOffice holderFrench First Republic2 March 180010 March 1800Jacques Hyacinthe Fabry10 March 180023 July 1802Jean Antoine Ozun23 July 18021 February 1805Patrice Charles Gislain de ConinckFrench First Empire1 February 180512 February 1810Joseph Aurèle Charles de Bossi12 February 181010 June 1814Léonard Philippe Rivet10 June 181414 March 1815Guillaume Antoine Benoît Capelle14 March 181522 March 1815Pierre Joseph Marie Baude22 March 18156 April 1815André Pierre Étienne Abrial6 April 181514 July 1815Pierre Joseph Marie BaudeKingdom of France14 July 181519 July 1820Emmanuel Jean François Camus du Martroy19 July 182012 August 1830Jean-Baptiste de RogniatKingdom of the French12 August 183012 March 1831Paul François Tondu12 March 18318 June 1832Christophe Alexis Adrien de Jussieu8 June 183214 July 1833Guillaume Bellon14 July 183325 May 1834Charles Marchand-Dubreuil25 May 183423 July 1837Hippolyte Paul Jayr23 July 183710 August 1839Louis Pierre Adrien Bonnet10 August 183918 March 1841Christophe Alexis Adrien de Jussieu18 March 18419 July 1843Guillaume Philippe Rébut de la Rhoëllerie9 July 184315 December 1846Jean Pierre Marquier15 December 184629 February 1848Jean Olympie BouquetFrench Second Republic29 February 184828 March 1848Jean Chrysogone Guigue de Champvans28 March 184820 May 1848Albert Hugon and Anthelme Roselli Mollet20 May 18486 June 1848André Édouard Carteron6 June 184820 November 1849Henri Dézé20 November 184912 March 1851Léonard Léonce Rochon de La Peyrouse12 March 18516 December 1851François Victor Adolphe de Chanal6 December 18514 March 1853Abel Jean-Baptiste Désiré RogniatFrench Second Empire4 March 18538 April 1953Jean-Baptiste Charles Aladenize8 April 195326 November 1856Louis Charles Emmanuel de Coëtlogon26 November 185627 July 1859Jean Paul Gustave Ségaud27 July 18595 October 1861Charles Jean Louis Le Masson5 October 18615 October 1867Jean Marie François Léon Chamboduc de Saint-Pulgent5 October 18673 March 1869Marie Léopold Alexandre Lepeintre3 March 186926 November 1869Henri Fernand Bourgeois de Jessaint26 November 18696 September 1870Marie Louis Alfred du Bois de JancignyFrench Third Republic6 September 187027 April 1871Édouard Clément Julien Puthod27 April 18711 July 1873Alfred François Hippolyte Nicolas Rousseau1 July 187328 August 1874Jean Pierre Augustin Raffier-Dufour28 August 187413 April 1876Marie Paul Esterhazy13 April 187619 May 1877Guisbert Jean Adrien Jules de Huart19 May 187718 December 1877Bernard Marie Jean Charles de Raymond-Cahuzac18 December 187715 March 1879Alfred François Hippolyte Nicolas Rousseau15 March 187912 January 1880Louis Charles Henri Fresne12 January 188017 November 1880Eugène Félicien Jules Gellion Danglar17 November 18805 October 1882Antoine Léon Stéhelin5 October 188212 February 1886Charles Hippolyte Massat12 February 188622 September 1890Jean Auguste Gaston Joliet22 September 189018 March 1895Gervais Achille François Debax18 March 189513 October 1896Jean François Abel Combarieu13 October 189616 July 1898Charles Evariste Bonnerot16 July 189820 February 1900Auguste Alexandre Guillaume Autrand20 February 19005 September 1904Bernard Joseph Eugène Dardenne5 September 190430 October 1909Claude Benoît Just30 October 190931 December 1913Gabriel Marc Charles Olivier Brin31 December 19134 July 1914Paul Marie Fortuné Peytral4 July 191415 October 1918Hilaire Toussaint Octave Delfini15 October 19186 November 1918Paul Léonard Constant Mathivet6 November 191822 January 1919Joseph Amédée Louis Benoist22 January 191922 January 1919Prosper Victor Henri Dutreuil22 January 191924 August 1921Joseph Amédée Louis Benoist24 August 192124 August 1921Charles Marie Xavier Droz24 August 192130 January 1925Alfred Jules Alexandre Gondoin30 January 192530 January 1925Henri Léopold Pierre Chaumet30 January 19252 May 1930Francisque Annet Varenne2 May 19302 May 1930Jean Marie Francis Laban2 May 19303 June 1931Antoine Jean Marcel Lemoine3 June 19318 June 1933Léopold Georges Mesnard8 June 19332 November 1940Georges Albert Maurice BernardFrench State2 November 194028 April 1943Jean-Baptiste François dit Louis Thoumas28 April 19435 August 1943Paul Louis Emmanuel Balley5 August 19434 February 1944Alfred Marcel Louis Papinot4 February 19441 July 1944Joseph Jean Pierre Basile Marcel DelpeyrouFrench Fourth Republic1 July 194418 November 1944Georges Benoît Antoine Dupoizat de Villemont18 November 194424 July 1946Léon Etienne Blanchard24 July 194618 December 1946Jean Auguste Emile Rigade18 December 194619 June 1947Jean Latscha19 June 19477 May 1948Étienne Édouard Georges Pépin7 May 194817 September 1949Pierre Lecène17 September 194931 October 1951Robert Jean Benoît Duperier31 October 19511 July 1955François Antoine Louis Collaveri1 July 19554 April 1960Jean ThomassinFrench Fifth Republic4 April 19609 December 1961Célestin Roger Marcel Blanchard9 December 196114 June 1973Georges Benoît Antoine Dupoizat de Villemont14 June 197321 April 1975Henri Boucoiran21 April 197513 July 1979Roger Gaston Albert Ninin13 July 197916 July 1981Raymond François Le Bris16 July 19813 October 1984Philippe Jean Marie Loiseau3 October 19849 March 1985Bernard Gérard9 March 198525 July 1986Claude Guizard25 July 198624 November 1988Georges Mazenot24 November 198824 April 1991Yves Mansillon24 April 19912 November 1992Michel Festy2 November 19923 August 1995Jean-Pierre Lacroix3 August 199517 March 1999Philippe Ritter17 March 19997 October 1999Jean-Pierre Lacave7 October 199912 July 2002Pierre-Etienne Bisch12 July 200229 April 2004Bernard Tomasini29 April 200420 July 2006Michel Fuzeau20 July 200630 January 2009Pierre Soubelet30 January 200930 September 2010Régis Guyot30 September 201020 June 2013Philippe Galli20 June 201323 August 2016Laurent Touvet23 August 2016IncumbentArnaud Cochet

References

See also Prefect Prefectures in France