Jules Marie Armand Cavelier de Cuverville

Jules de Cuverville (; 28 July 1834 – 14 March 1912) was a French naval officer who rose to become Chief of Staff of the French Navy. He entered politics in later life, elected to the senate where between 1901 and 1912 he represented Finistère.

Life Jules Marie Armand de Cuverville was born at Allineuc, a small village a short distance inland from Saint-Brieuc in Brittany. His father was Louis-Paul de Cuverville who represented the locality on the monarchist benches in the National Assembly between 1849 and 1853. Louis-Paul's family was descended from the lords of the manor at Maucomble in Normandy, some of whom had been Squires to French kings. Other kinsmen included sailors and naval officers, such as his grandfather, the Rear Admiral Louis-Hyacinthe Cavelier de Cuverville.

Jules Marie attended school at Saint Sauveur de Redon and the lycée in Rennes before entering naval college in 1850. He emerged in 1852 and participated at the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), where he was badly wounded. There were further missions in Africa and in the Crimea. He served in Algeria as deputy to Vice-admiral de Gueydon between 1871 and 1873. He was briefly given command of the avisos "Kleber" and "Cuvier" before being seconded to the diplomatic service, serving as naval attache at the French embassy in London during the middle 1870s. He then returned to France, serving aboard the Inferent as a commander with the South Atlantic Naval Division between 1875 and 1879, and promoted to the rank of ship's captain in 1878, taking command of a succession of training ships. He was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in 1888 and appointed a member of the Admiralty Council. Between 1890 and 1892 he served as head of the North Atlantic Naval division and was involved in the Pacification of Dahomey.

A friend and political ally of Jacques Piou, he joined the Popular Liberal Action (political party), becoming one of its most passionate supporters. He was appointed a party vice-president in 1907. Deeply Catholic and steadfast in his commitment to the Third Republic, Admiral Count de Cuverville had two principal political priorities: defence of the church and support for the navy.