Charles Latour Rogier (; 17 August 1800 – 27 May 1885) was a
Belgian liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and ...
statesman and a leader in 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.
Th ...
of 1830. He served as the
prime minister of Belgium on two occasions: from 1847 to 1852, and again from 1857 to 1868.
Career
Early life
Rogier was descended from a family settled in the department of the Nord in France, and was born in
Saint-Quentin. His father, an officer in the
French army, perished in the
Russian Campaign
The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...
of 1812. The family then moved to the Belgian city of
Liège, where the eldest son, Firmin, held a professorship. Rogier studied law at the
University of Liège
The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the ...
and was admitted to the
Bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar ( ...
. However, he devoted himself with greater zeal to journalistic campaigns against the
Dutch rule in Belgium, which had been established by the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
in 1815. In 1824, in collaboration with his lifelong friends
Paul Devaux and
Joseph Lebeau, he founded the journal ''
Mathieu Laensberg'' (afterwards ''Le Politique''). With its ardent patriotism and its attacks on the Dutch administration, the journal soon achieved widespread influence.
On the outbreak of the insurrection at
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 ...
in August 1830, Rogier went there with a militia of about 300 citizens from Liège. In Brussels he gained recognition as one of the most active among the patriot leaders, and his influence saved the town hall from pillage on 19 September. Five days later a was formed, of which Rogier became president. The measures of this body and of its successor, the , soon freed the greater part of the country from the Dutch troops. In October Rogier was also sent to suppress an outbreak among the
colliers of
Hainaut Province.
Political rise
Rogier became a member of the
provisional government established in October of the same year. He succeeded in arranging an
armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the L ...
, and then reorganized the entire administration of
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, . He represented Liège in the
Belgian National Congress, voted for the establishment of a
hereditary monarchy, and induced the congress to adopt the principle of an elective second chamber. In the long-drawn debates on the bestowal of the crown he ranged himself on the side of
Louis Philippe: he first supported the candidature of prince
Otto of Bavaria, and on his rejection declared for Louis Philippe's son
duc de Nemours Duke of Nemours was a title in the Peerage of France. The name refers to Nemours in the Île-de-France region of north-central France.
History
In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Lordship of Nemours, in the Gatinais, France, was a possession of ...
, whose candidacy was declined by Louis.
After the eventual election of
Leopold I as King in June 1831, Rogier was made Governor of
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, , a post rendered difficult by the continued presence of Dutch troops in the citadel. In October 1832 he was made minister of the interior in the
Goblet cabinet. In June 1833 he intervened in a quarrel in the chamber of deputies between Paul Devaux, then a minister, and the opposition leader,
Alexandre Gendebien
Alexandre Joseph Célestin Gendebien (Mons, 4 May 1789 – Brussels, 6 December 1869) was a lawyer in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and later Belgium, where he also became minister of Justice.
He played an important role during the Belgi ...
, and fought a duel in which he was severely wounded. During his term of office he carried, in the teeth of violent opposition, a law that established in Belgium the first railways on the continent of Europe, and thus laid the foundation of her industrial development. Owing to dissensions in the cabinet, he retired in 1834, together with Lebeau, and resumed the governorship of Antwerp.
When Lebeau returned to power in 1840, Rogier became Minister of Public Works and Education. His educational reform proposals were defeated, and when the ministry resigned in 1841 he supported a compromise that passed into law the next year. He then led the Liberal party in Opposition until 1847, when he formed a cabinet in which he was Minister of the Interior. He at once embarked on a programme of political and economic reform, and took effective steps to remedy the industrial distress caused by the decay of the
Flemish linen trade. The limits of the franchise were extended, and as the result of the liberal policy of the government Belgium alone escaped the
revolutionary wave
A revolutionary wave or revolutionary decade is one series of revolutions occurring in various locations within a similar time-span. In many cases, past revolutions and revolutionary waves have inspired current ones, or an initial revolution has ...
that spread over the Continent in 1848. He passed a law in 1850 organizing secondary education under the control of the State, and giving the clergy only the right of religious instruction. The opposition Clerical party, though unable to defeat this measure, succeeded in shaking the position of the cabinet; and it was finally undermined, after Louis Napoleon's ''
coup d'état'' of 1851, by the hostility of the French government, whose political exiles had been welcomed by the liberal cabinet at Brussels.
Rogier retired in October 1852, but was brought back into office by the
liberal reaction of 1857. He again became president of the council and minister of the interior in a cabinet of which
Walthère Frère-Orban
Hubert Joseph Walthère Frère-Orban (24 April 1812 – 2 January 1896) was a Belgian liberal statesman.
Early life
He was born at Liège, received his education at home and in Paris, and began the practice of law in his native town. He identif ...
was the most conspicuous member. The first important measure passed by the ministry was one for the fortification of Antwerp. In 1860 the fear of French designs on the independence of Belgium led to a movement of reconciliation with the Netherlands, and in the same year Belgium adopted ''
La Brabançonne
"" (; nl, "De Brabançonne"; german: "Das Lied von Brabant") is the national anthem of Belgium. The originally French title refers to Brabant; the name is usually maintained untranslated in Belgium's other two official languages, Dutch and Ge ...
'' as its national anthem, with words adapted by Rogier from an existing poem.
From 1861, Rogier served as Minister for Foreign Affairs. In this capacity he achieved a diplomatic triumph in freeing the navigation of the river
Scheldt, thus enabling Antwerp to become the second port on the mainland of Europe. Electorally defeated at Dinant, he represented
Tournai from 1863, a post he held until his death.
Later life
By now his younger colleague, Frère-Orban, gradually overshadowed his chief, and in 1868 Rogier finally retired from power. He continued, however, to take part in public life, and was elected president of the extraordinary session of the chamber of representatives in 1878, but was replaced by
Jules Guillery later the same year. The fiftieth anniversary of the kingdom of Belgium in 1880, and two years later that of his entry into parliament, were the occasion of demonstrations in his honour. He died at Brussels on 27 May 1885, and his remains were accorded a public funeral.
Legacy
Today, one of Brussels' central squares, the
Place Charles Rogier/Karel Rogierplein, is named in is honour.
Honours
* :
**
Minister of State, By Royal decree.
**
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...
.
** Grand Cordon in the
Order of Leopold.
*: Grand Cross in the
Austrian Imperial Order of Leopold
* : Knight Grand Cross in the
Legion of Honour.
* : Knight Grand Cross in the
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.
* : Knight Grand Cross in the
Order of the Netherlands Lion
The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...
.
* : Grand Cross in the
Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa
The Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (also known as The Order of Our Lady of Conception of Vila Vicosa; pt, Ordem de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa) is a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Braganza, the f ...
.
* : Knight Grand Cross in the Imperial
Order of the White Eagle.
* : Knight Grand Cross in the
Order of Charles III.
* : Grand Cross in the
Order of the Polar Star.
* : Grand Cross in the
.
* : Grand Cross in the
Order of the Red Eagle.
[Almanach royal officiel: 1875 p137]
Gallery
File:Charles Rogier Monument in Parc d'Avroy, Liege.jpg, Belgian independence monument in Parc d'Avroy, Liège, dedicated to Charles Rogier
File:Schaerbeek tombe de Charles Rogier 001.jpg, Mausoleum of Charles Rogier in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Cemetery
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, nl, Begraafplaats van Sint-Joost-ten-Node) is a cemetery belonging to Saint-Josse-ten-Noode in Brussels, Belgium, where the municipality's inhabitants have the right ...
File:Schaerbeek tombe de Charles Rogier 003.jpg, Crypt and grave of Charles Rogier in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Cemetery
Publications
*
See also
*
List of prime ministers of Belgium
*
Liberalism in Belgium
This article gives an overview of liberalism in Belgium. Liberalism was a dominant force since the Belgian independence from the Netherlands. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogier, Charles
1800 births
1885 deaths
Prime Ministers of Belgium
Governors of Antwerp Province
19th-century Belgian politicians
Belgian journalists
Male journalists
Belgian Ministers of State
Belgian people of French descent
Liberal Party (Belgium) politicians
Members of the National Congress of Belgium
People from Antwerp Province
People from Saint-Quentin, Aisne
Presidents of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
University of Liège alumni
People of the Belgian Revolution
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
Order of the Polar Star
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa
19th-century French journalists
French male journalists
19th-century male writers
National anthem writers