He was conservative, a monarchist, a member of the Russian Assembly, and an advocate of moderate reforms opposed to the influence of Grigori Rasputin.

Alexander was the youngest of the four sons of general Fyodor Trepov, who was involved in the suppression of the January Uprising in 1864 and between 1873 and 1878 served as Governor of St Petersburg.

Alexander was appointed as a member of the special commission to draft a plan for a State Duma, according to the rescript of February 18, 1905, and the Manifesto of October 17.

[2] He was the brother of General Dmitri Feodorovich Trepov, who during the Revolution of 1905/1906 served as deputy minister of the interior, played a major role in the repression of unrest[3] and was described as the real ruler of the country.

Aleksandr Naumov suggested to create a special meeting of five Ministers on Military, Internal Affairs, Communications, Agriculture, and Finance.

[8] Trepov was a new, 'modern day Stolypin', and was determined to win over the more moderate Duma politicians by making concessions; Pavel Milyukov and Alexander Guchkov were ready to accept his gesture (and possibly a position in his cabinet), but the more radical and socialist Duma members remained determined to bring down the government.

On 19 November Trepov declared full transfer of the food issue at the request of the Duma to the ministry of agriculture.

On 29 November/12 December the German Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, in a speech in the Reichstag, offered to open negotiations with the Entente in a neutral country.

On 2 December, on his appearance in the Imperial Duma, Trepov revealed France and Britain promised Russia Constantinople and the Bosporus,[12] but was loudly hissed at by the Socialists.

[15] With the help of general A.A. Mosolov,[16] his brother-in-law, Trepov offered a substantial amount of money, a bodyguard and a house to Rasputin, when he would leave politics.

Woodrow Wilson planned to bring the United States into the war, when the Germans attempted to negotiate peace with the allies.

This "ministerial leapfrog", as it came to be known, not only removed competent men from power, but also disorganized the work of government since no one remained long enough in office to master their responsibilities.

[20]According to Bernard Pares Trepov was probably appointed as a curator at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where he met the tsar on February 1, 1917.