Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme and Basses-Alpes, later renamed Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

The then rural department was, like the nearby city of Lyon, a hotbed of the French Resistance in World War II.

Mountains occupy a significant proportion of the eastern half of the department, with Mont Ventoux (1,912 m), also known as "the Giant of Provence", dominating the landscape.

Fruit and vegetables are cultivated in great quantities in the lower-lying parts of the department, on one of the most fertile plains in Southern France.

The Left Front (FG) currently has 2 seats, the Socialist Party (PS) has 7, Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV) has 3, the miscellaneous right (DVD) has 2, The Republicans (LR) have 10, the National Rally has 6 and a local party, the Ligue du Sud (LS), has 4.In the 2022 legislative election, Vaucluse elected the following representatives to the National Assembly: During the 2017 legislative election, Vaucluse elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:[5] *On 21 July 2017, Brune Poirson resigned from office to join the Second Philippe government as Secretary of State to the Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition.