Short answer. A limited partner is a member of a limited partnership. Under Article 1843, a limited partnership has one or more general partners and one or more limited partners, and the limited partners as such shall not be bound by the obligations of the partnership. Their exposure is limited to what they contribute.
What the law says
The limited partners as such shall not be bound by the obligations of the partnership.
Civil Code, Article 1843 — Limited Partnership Defined. Read the full provision →
What a limited partnership is
Article 1843 defines a distinctive kind of partnership with two classes of member. A limited partnership is one formed by two or more persons... having as members one or more general partners and one or more limited partners. The two roles are quite different. The general partners run the business and bear its risks much as partners in an ordinary partnership do — they manage and they are personally liable. The limited partners are investors: they put in capital and share in the returns, but they stand back from management and, crucially, are shielded from the firm's debts.
The limited partner's shield
The heart of the arrangement is the second sentence: the limited partners as such shall not be bound by the obligations of the partnership. So a limited partner is not personally liable for the firm's debts. If the partnership cannot pay what it owes, its creditors cannot pursue the limited partner's personal assets the way they can a general partner's; the limited partner risks only the capital he contributed. This is the fundamental difference from a general partnership, where every partner answers with his own property.
The shield can be lost
The protection is not unconditional, and this is the most important thing for a limited partner to grasp. The shield attaches to a limited partner acting as a limited partner — an investor who stays out of management. The limited-partnership rules elsewhere provide that a limited partner who takes part in the control of the business can lose that protection and be exposed like a general partner. So the price of limited liability is genuine passivity: contributing capital and drawing returns, yes; running the firm, no. A limited partner who starts managing, holding himself out as running the business or making its decisions, risks trading his shield for a general partner's liability.
If you are considering being a limited partner
For a founder or investor weighing a limited-partner role, the appeal is clear: you can put money into a business and share its profits without risking your other assets on its debts. Two things follow. First, make sure the partnership is genuinely a limited partnership, properly formed — the protection comes from the statutory arrangement, not from calling yourself 'limited'. Second, respect the boundary of your role: leave management to the general partners, because taking part in control is the classic way a limited partner loses the very shield he joined for. Invest, monitor and collect your returns — but keep your hands off the running of the firm.