Louis was born at Versailles, France, in 1710. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of 5. His reign began peacefully, though the government had accumulated a large debt under Louis XIV. Philippe, Duke of Orleans, a relative of the young king, ruled on his behalf until 1723. In 1726, Louis's former tutor, Andre Hercule Cardinal de Fleury, became the real head of the government. Fleury worked to revive the weak economy of France.
When Fleury died in 1743, the king announced that he would rule without a chief minister, as Louis XIV had done. But Louis XV was a weak king interested more in pleasure than in government. He also was influenced too much by his mistresses. For 20 years, one of them, Madame de Pompadour, dictated policies and appointed ministers. After she died in 1764, another mistress, Madame du Barry, dominated Louis. Louis's favorites looted the treasury and prevented reforms.
In 1725, Louis married Maria Leszczynska, daughter of Stanislas I, the exiled king of Poland. France fought the War of the Polish Succession (1733-1738) in a vain attempt to restore Stanislas to his throne. France won Lorraine in this war. In the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), France gained nothing. In the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), France lost to Britain most of its colonies in Canada and India. He died in 1774.