François I, Duke of Nevers

François I de Clèves, (2 September 1516 – 13 February 1561) was a French Prince étranger and military commander during the Italian Wars. He was the first duke of Nevers, his county being elevated to a duchy in 1539. In deference to the large amount of land he held in Champagne, and lands he was set to inherit there from his mother, François was made governor of Champagne in 1545.

Upon the ascent of Henri II to the throne of France, François would involve himself deeply in the king's ambitions for resuming the Italian Wars. He fought at the decisive victory of the siege of Metz in 1552. In 1554 he was granted the honour of leading one of the three royal armies that invaded Artois, and in the following campaign was with François, Duke of Guise's small force when it won a surprising victory against the main imperial army under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. He assisted in the salvage of French forces after the disaster at Saint-Quentin and assisted in the successful defence of Thionville against the victorious Spanish army the following year.

Upon the death of Henri II, François attempted to control the Protestants of his governorship, who were growing increasingly bold, but was unable to do much to slow the growth of their community. Increasingly ill, he died the following year, resigning his governorship in favour of his son on his deathbed. Throughout his career François had attempted to tie his children into the leading princely families of the northern frontier, who were largely Protestant, those of La Marck and Croÿ. His son, François, would only outlive him by a year, and upon his death his second son Jacques would die in 1564, extinguishing the male line of his house, leading to the duchy of Nevers being inherited by Louis Gonzaga through marriage to his daughter.