Armand Jean du Plessis, commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French noble, statesman and clergyman. Often referred as the ‘l'Éminence rouge’ or the ‘Red Eminence’, he remained a bishop and the foreign secretary of France before rising to power as the chief minister in the regency of King Louis XIII. He sought to eliminate royal factions and aided for consolidation of regal power. He successfully reformed the country into a powerful centralised state by restricting the power of the nobles. He strengthened the army and the navy, made sure that France held a dominating position in the ‘Thirty Years’ War’ in Europe and resorted to restrict the power of the Habsburg dynasty. He aided in establishing French colonies. While a devoted cardinal, he never backed off in tying up with Protestant rulers to reach his objective. He faced several challenges as the chief minister including ‘Day of the Dupes’, a conspiracy of the King’s mother Marie de Medici, but was triumphant as he took the King into confidence. His was also a great patron of arts.