The Christian Social Party (french: Parti Social Chrétien, or PSC; nl, Christelijke Volkspartij, CVP) was a major centre-right
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
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 ...
which existed from 1945 until 1968. Established as the successor to the pre-war
Catholic Block, the new party was established with a "deconfessionalised"
Christian Democrat
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
orientation
but split along linguistic lines in 1968 into the
Christian Social Party (''Parti Social Chrétien'') and
Christian People's Party (''Christelijke Volkspartij''). As the largest party throughout much of the period of its existence, it participated in most of the country's coalition governments during its existence alongside the
Belgian Socialist Party nl, Belgische Socialistische Partij
, logo = Logo of the Belgian Socialist Party.png
, caption = The fist and rose emblem used by the party from 1973.
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Achille Van Acker (first)André Cools (last)
...
and
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
and provided a number of influential prime ministers.
History
At the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, on 18–19 August 1945 the Parti Social Chrétien-Christelijke Volkspartij (CVP-PSC) was founded under the presidency of
August de Schryver as the successor to the
Catholic Party.
In 1968, the party divided along linguistic lines, forming the Francophone
Christian Social Party (''Parti Social Chrétien'') in
Wallonia
Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...
and the Flemish
Christian People's Party (''Christelijke Volkspartij'') in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
.
Election results
Chamber of Representatives
Notable members
*
Jean Duvieusart
*
Gaston Eyskens
Gaston François Marie, viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC).
He served t ...
*
Pierre Harmel
Pierre Charles José Marie, Count Harmel (16 March 1911 – 15 November 2009) was a Belgian lawyer, Christian Democratic politician and diplomat. Harmel served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1965 to 1966.
Early life
He was born in Uccle ...
*
Théo Lefèvre
*
Joseph Pholien
Joseph Clovis Louis Marie Emmanuel Pholien (28 December 1884 – 4 January 1968) was a Belgian Catholic politician and member of the PSC-CVP. He was born in Liège, and volunteered to serve with the Belgian army during World War I, being commi ...
*
Paul Vanden Boeynants
Paul Emile François Henri Vanden Boeynants (; 22 May 1919 – 9 January 2001) was a Belgian politician.
Rulers. Retrieved 30 August 2014.< ...
*
Jean Van Houtte
* Count
Jean Charles Snoy et d'Oppuers
Jean V Charles, Count Snoy et d'Oppuers (2 July 1907 in Braine-l'Alleud – 17 May 1991) was a Belgian civil servant, diplomat and Christian Democratic politician of the PSC-CVP.
Family
Jean-Charles was born son of Thierry Idesbald, Ba ...
See also
*
Politics of Belgium
The politics of Belgium take place in the framework of a federal, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy. The King of the Belgians is the head of state, and the prime minister of Belgium is the head of government, in a multi-party ...
*
Christene Volkspartij
*
Graves de communi re
''Graves de communi re'' was an encyclical written by Pope Leo XIII in 1901, on Christian Democracy. It is part of a larger body of writings known as Catholic social teaching, that trace their origin to ''Rerum novarum'' which was issued by Pop ...
* ''
Rerum novarum
''Rerum novarum'' (from its incipit, with the direct translation of the Latin meaning "of revolutionary change"), or ''Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor'', is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, pass ...
''
Further reading
*
Sources
* Th. Luykx and M. Platel, ''Politieke geschiedenis van België'', 2 vol., Kluwer, 1985
* E. Witte, J. Craeybeckx en A. Meynen, ''Politieke geschiedenis van België'', Standaard, 1997
References
External links
Archives of Christian Social Partyi
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
Defunct political parties in Belgium
Christian democratic parties in Belgium
Defunct Christian political parties
1945 establishments in Belgium
1968 disestablishments in Belgium
Political parties established in 1945
Political parties disestablished in 1968
{{Belgium-party-stub