Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte was the nephew of Napoleon I.

He capitalized on the power of his famous name, which appealed to the French people's memory of national glory.

After the February Revolution of 1848, he returned to France and was elected President of the Second Republic by a landslide.

As president, he positioned himself as a man of order, appealing to conservatives and property owners frightened by the radicalism of the 'June Days' Uprising.

In 1851, when the constitution prevented him from running for a second term, he staged a coup d'état, dissolving the National Assembly and seizing absolute power.

He used a plebiscite, or popular vote, to legitimize his coup, which was approved by a vast majority.

One year later, in 1852, he held another plebiscite and proclaimed himself Emperor Napoleon III, establishing the Second French Empire.

His style of rule combined authoritarianism with populist policies and economic modernization.

He oversaw the grand reconstruction of Paris and the expansion of the French railway system.

His rise to power demonstrated a new model of modern authoritarian rule based on popular nationalism.