 During the preparation and implementation of the Edict of Nantes (finalized in 1598), an administrative department was created to oversee Protestant affairs.By a royal decision in 1588, one of the four secretaries of state of Henry III, Forget de Fresne, was given the responsibility of negotiating with the provinces which had large Huguenot populations (Languedoc, Dauphiné, Orléanais, Maine, Anjou, Poitou, Saintonge, Angoumois).Trusted by Henry IV, Forget de Fresne became the principal author of the Edict of Nantes (which he co-signed), and organizer of the department of Protestant affairs.