Count Albert-Émile de Beauffort (20 March 1899 – 15 March 1983) was a Belgian colonial administrator.
Early years
Albert Émile Joseph Benoît François d'Assise Anne Marie Ghislain de Beauffort was born in
St-Gilles,
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
on 20 March 1899.
His parents were Georges de Beauffort, Comte de Beauffort (1871–1928) and Antoinette de Liedekerke de Pailhe (1869–1959).
He obtained a degree in Commerce.
After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(1914–1918) he was made a commissioner of war damages.
Belgian Congo
On 8 March 1925 Beauffort married Adrienne de Zualart (1894–1995) in
Boma.
In 1933 de Beauffort was appointed Commissioner of
Léopoldville Province
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
in the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
when that province was created from part of the former
Congo-Kasaï Province.
In 1941 his title was changed to Governor of Léopoldville Province.
He was also made State Inspector of the colony.
In March 1942 the Minister for the Colonies,
Albert De Vleeschauwer, and the Prime Minister,
Hubert Pierlot
Hubert Marie Eugène Pierlot (, 23 December 1883 – 13 December 1963) was a Belgian politician and Prime Minister of Belgium, serving between 1939 and 1945. Pierlot, a lawyer and jurist, served in World War I before entering politics in the 192 ...
, arrived in the Congo.
They disagreed strongly with Governor General
Pierre Ryckmans about reorganization of authority at the governor level.
The result was a sort of power-sharing arrangement between Vice-Governor
Paul Ermens
Paul-Charles Ermens (June 8, 1884 – November 1, 1957) was a senior Force Publique officer, Vice-governor general of the Belgian Congo and Commander of the Force Publique. His most famous post was when he served as the commander of the Force Pu ...
and State Inspector Albert de Beauffort.
Beauffort and his wife were among the donators to the Musée de la vie indigène in Leopoldville from its inception.
Their gifts in the 1940s included an ivory
Pende pendant and twelve Pende masks.
Beauffort left his office of governor of Léopoldville Province in 1943, succeeded by
Marcel Maquet.
From July 1944 to 1945 he was governor of
Lusambo Province
Lusambo is a territory in and capital of Sankuru province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town lies north of the confluence of the Sankuru River and the Lubi River. Lusambo is served by Lusambo Airport.
In 1890 Lusambo was chosen by Paul ...
.
He was president of the bureau for administering the Queen Elisabeth Fund for Medical Assistance to the Indigenous People of the Belgian Congo (''Fonds Reine Elisabeth pour l’ Assistance Médicale aux Indigènes du Congo belge'').
In 1960 he was a member of the administrative council of the
Société Générale de Belgique
The ' ( nl, Generale Maatschappij van België; literally "General Company of Belgium") was a large Belgian bank and later holdings company which existed between 1822 and 2003.
The ''Société générale'' was originally founded as an investme ...
.
Later career
On 30 December 1958 Count Albert-E.-H.G. de Beauffort, former state inspector in the Belgian Congo, president and administrator of colonial societies, was promoted to commander of the
Order of Leopold.
In 1961 he was a member of the Congo and Ruanda-Urundi National Parks Commission.
He died in
Namur
Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration.
Namu ...
on 15 March 1983.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauffort, Albert de
1899 births
1983 deaths
Governors of Léopoldville Province
Governors of Kasaï (former province)
Governors of provinces of the Belgian Congo