Alphonse Lambert Joseph Fernand Cocq (5 July 1861 in

Huy Huy ( or ; nl, Hoei, ; wa, Hu) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the ''sillon industriel'', the former industrial ...

– 11 December 1940 in

Ixelles (French, ) or ( Dutch, ), is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the munic ...

) 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 m ...

politician who served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Career

After studying law and becoming a lawyer, Cocq began his political career in

, where he was founder of the local ''Ligue wallonne''. He was elected as member of the local council in 1890 and served as alderman, 1900–1919, and then as mayor, 1919–1921. From 1909 to 1936 he also sat in the Chamber of Representatives as a Liberal member for Brussels, serving as deputy speaker 1930–1931. He became Minister of Justice in the government of

Jules Renkin Jules Laurent Jean Louis Renkin (3 December 1862 – 15 July 1934) was a Belgian politician. He served as the minister of colonies for the Belgian Congo from 30 October 1908 to 21 November 1918. Born in Ixelles, Renkin studied and practised ...

, which took office on 6 June 1931. The government fell in October the following year, leading to the early 1932 Belgian general election. Cocq was initiated as a Freemason in 1884, and went on to become Grand Master of the

Grand Orient of Belgium Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and c ...

two times: 1902–1904 and 1911–1913.

Honours

* 1932: knight grand Cross in the Order of the Crown.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocq, Fernand Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Belgian politicians Belgian Freemasons 1861 births 1940 deaths Masonic Grand Masters Mayors of places in Belgium