Charles Marie Pierre Albert, 1st Count de Broqueville (4 December 1860 – 5 September 1940) was the
prime minister of Belgium, serving during
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 ...
.
Before 1914
Charles de Broqueville was born into an old noble family with its roots in
French Gascony. He was the son of count Stanislas de Broqueville (1830-1919) and Claire de Briey (1832-1876). He received private education from Catholic priest Charles Simon, from which he also learned Dutch. He married Berthe d'Huart (1864-1937), a granddaughter of Catholic statesman
Jules Malou, through which he gained further connections to politics.
First elected to the
Chamber of Representatives in
the 1892 election, he represented the
arrondissement of Turnhout
The Arrondissement of Turnhout ( nl, Arrondissement Turnhout; french: Arrondissement de Turnhout) is one of the three administrative arrondissements in the Province of Antwerp, Belgium. It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement. ...
until June 1919. He was seen as part of ''de jonge rechterzijde'' (the young right-wing), and was politically a midway between
Christian democracy and more traditional forms of
conservatism
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
.
The leader of Belgium's
Catholic Party, he served as prime minister between 1911 and 1918 and headed the
de Broqueville government.
Once it became clear that
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
intended to violate Belgian neutrality in August 1914, he oversaw Belgium's mobilization for war. Despite the mobilization, de Broqueville opposed
King Albert I's proposal to deploy the
Belgian Army
The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...
along the German frontier in 1914 but strategically placed them throughout the country. He recognized that wartime support for Belgium depended upon its continued status as a nonprovocative neutral power.
During the war, de Broqueville was more willing to make concessions to the Flemish Movement than King Albert, in order to secure Belgian unity in the long term. He made several promises to the movements for after the war, such as the Dutchification of
Ghent University
Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium.
Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when th ...
and better conditions for the Dutch language in standard education.
In 1917, he proposed a customs union between France and Belgium, in order to help Belgium recover post-war, though the idea was rejected, out of fear that Belgium would become a junior partner in such a union.
First World War
The German invasion of 1914 forced the
Belgian government into exile at
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
. De Broqueville fought the king on the neutrality issue and so denied Belgium a full alliance with the
Allied forces.
The opposition of the king critically weakened de Broqueville's stance among members of his cabinet. Consequently, he resigned as Foreign Secretary in January 1918 and as Prime Minister in May when he lost the support of his own party.
De Broqueville also served as minister in various departments:
*Minister of Railways and
PTT (Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones) 1910–1912
*
Minister of War 1912–1917
*Minister of Foreign Affairs 1917
*Minister of Reconstruction 1917–1918
*Minister of the Interior 1918–1919
*
Minister of National Defence 1926–1930
Postwar
Later, Charles de Broqueville became Prime Minister a second time, serving from 22 October 1932 to 20 November 1934. He died on 5 September 1940, during the second German occupation of Belgium.
Titles
* 1867 – 1919: Baron Charles de Broqueville
* 1919 – 1920: Charles, Baron de Broqueville
* After 1920: Charles, Count de Broqueville
Honours
Belgian
* :
**
Croix de Guerre
**
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...
, by Royal Decree.
** Grand Cordon of the
Order of Leopold (1919)
[Royal Decree of 1919/-Mémorial du centenaire de l'Ordre de Léopold. 1832-1932. Bruxelles, J. Rozez, 1933..]
Foreign
* : Knight of the
Order of the Dannebrog
* :
**Grand Croix of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
** decorated with the
Croix de Guerre
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of the Redeemer
* : Knight with the Collar of the
Order of Pius IX
The Order of Pope Pius IX ( it, Ordine di Pio IX), also referred as the Pian Order ( it, Ordine Piano), is a papal order of knighthood originally founded by Pope Pius IV in 1560. Currently, it is the highest honor conferred by the Holy See (bein ...
.
* : 1st class in the
Order of the Rising Sun
* : Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus,
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of the Oak Crown
* : Knight Grand Cross of 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 ...
,
* : Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of St Michael and St George
* Knight of the
Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire),
* Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of the Crown of Romania,
* Knight Grand Cross of the
Portuguese Order of Christ (Portugal)
* Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of the Zähringer Lion
The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted on 26 December 1812 by Karl, Grand Duke of Baden
, house = Zähringen
, father = Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden
, mother = Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt ...
(Grand Duchy of Baden)
Arms
See also
*
List of prime ministers of Belgium
The prime minister of Belgium ( nl, Eerste minister van België; french: Premier ministre de Belgique; german: Premierminister von Belgien) or the premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government in the Kingdom of Belgium.
Although leader ...
*
List of defence ministers of Belgium
*
Belgium in World War I
*
Belgian nationalism
Belgian nationalism, sometimes pejoratively referred to as Belgicism (; ), is a nationalist ideology. In its modern form it favours the reversal of federalism and the creation of a unitary state in Belgium. The ideology advocates reduced or no a ...
Notes
Sources
* Louis DE LICHTERVELDE, ''Charles de Broqueville'', in: Biographie Nationale de Belgique, t. XXIX, 1956-1957, p. 369-377.
* Paul VAN MOLLE, ''La parlement belge, 1894-1972'', Antwerp, 1972
* Luc SCHEPENS, ''Albert Ier et le gouvernement Broqueville, 1914–1918 : aux origines de la question communautaire''. Paris 1983,
* Thierry DENOËL, ''Le nouveau dictionnaire des Belges'', 2e éd. revue et augm., Brussels, Le Cri, 1992, p. 167.
* Maria DE WAELE, ''Charles de Broqueville'', in: Nieuwe Encyclopedie van de Vlaamse Beweging, Tielt, 1998
* Paul VOS, ''Charles de Broqueville op de kering der tijden'', in: Vlaamse Stam, 2012, blz. 122-142.
* Frans RENAERS, ''De opvoeding van Charles de Broqueville'', in: Vlaamse Stam, blz 142-145.
External links
Charles de Broqueville at Prime Minister of Belgium* Laurence van Ypersele
Broqueville, Charles Marie Pierre Albert, Baron de in
*
*
ttp://www.odis.be/lnk/en/PS_368 Charles de Broquevillei
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Broqueville, Charles
1860 births
1940 deaths
Belgian Ministers of State
Belgian people of World War I
Catholic Party (Belgium) politicians
Counts of Belgium
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal)
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania)
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog
Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)
Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)
People from Antwerp Province
Prime Ministers of Belgium
Belgian Ministers of Defence
Foreign ministers of Belgium
Interior Ministers of Belgium
People from Mol, Belgium
20th-century Belgian politicians
19th-century Belgian politicians