Etienne de Sauvage (24 December 1789 – 24 August 1867) was a liberal politician in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and supporter of the early 19th century

unionism in Belgium In the politics of Belgium, Unionism or Union of Opposites (''union des oppositions'') is a Belgian political movement that existed from the 1820s to 1846. (In the present day, the term 'unionists' is sometimes used in a Belgian context to describ ...

movement.

Biography

In 1829 de Sauvage was vice president of the Association constitutionnelle, as the citizens moved toward the August 1830 start of the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

. In September 1830 he became a member of the commission of public safety of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, then became governor of

Liège Province Liège (; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium. Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Du ...

. The regent

Erasme Louis Surlet de Chokier Érasme-Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier (27 November 1769 – 7 August 1839), born in Liège, was a Belgian politician and, before the accession of Leopold I to the Belgian throne, was the first Regent of Belgium. During the Liège Revolution ...

asked him to form independent Belgium's second government. Sauvage asked

Joseph Lebeau Jean Louis Joseph Lebeau (3 January 1794 – 19 March 1865) was a Belgian liberal statesman, the prime minister of Belgium on two occasions. Biography Born in Huy, he received his early education from an uncle who was parish priest in Hannut, a ...

to form this government, going against the wishes of the Francophile regent (Lebeau had become known for fighting against

Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours Prince Louis of Orléans, Duke of Nemours (Louis Charles Philippe Raphaël d'Orléans; 25 October 1814 – 26 June 1896) was the second son of King Louis-Philippe I of France, and his wife Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. Life Childhood ...

' candidature in the

National Congress of Belgium The National Congress (french: Congrès national, nl, Nationaal Congres) was a temporary legislative assembly in Belgium, convened in 1830 in the aftermath of the Belgian Revolution. Its purpose was to devise a national constitution for the n ...

). Sauvage left Lebeau to head this government, though Sauvage was minister of the interior in it. He was again minister of the interior in

Felix de Muelenaere Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, S ...

's government until 3 August 1831, when he was replaced by

Charles de Brouckère Jonkheer Charles Joseph Marie Ghislain de Brouckère (18 January 1796 – 20 April 1860) was a Belgian nobleman and liberal politician. Born in Bruges, elder brother of future Prime Minister of Belgium Henri de Brouckère, Charles entered pol ...

. The government made Sauvage president of the chamber to the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...

on 4 October 1832, forcing him to resign as an MP.

References

* E. Duchesne, ''Etienne de Sauvage'' in: ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'', T. XXI, 1911-1913, 439–440. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sauvage, Etienne de 1789 births 1867 deaths Governors of Liège Province Court of Cassation (Belgium) judges Government ministers of Belgium