Gustave André Boël (18 May 1837 – 31 March 1912) was a Belgian industrialist and

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. He was the father of Pol Clovis Boël.

Career

Boël was the son of farmers (Salasse farm), growing up with four brothers and a sister. Boël studied at the industrial school of Houdeng-Aimeries and in 1851, at the age of 14, started working at the ''Etablissements Ernest Boucquéau''. He became foreman of the factory and in 1865 he became plant manager. Ernest Boucquéau, at the edge of bankruptcy and faced with the refusal of his family to help him, asked Boël and his accountant to assist him in saving the company. They helped gather the necessary funds to finish the work he had started on the railroad tunnel between

Enghien Enghien (; nl, Edingen ; pcd, Inguî; vls, Enge) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1January 2006, Enghien had a total population of 11,980. The total area is , which gives a population dens ...

and

Geraardsbergen Geraardsbergen (; french: Grammont, ) is a city and municipality located in the Denderstreek and in the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Geraardsbergen prop ...

of the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

of Braine-le-Comte to

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

. On 16 July 1880, Ernest Boucquéau died without leaving an heir and he bequeathed his fortune and his companies to Gustave Boël and his accountant. When the accountant died, Boël became the sole heir of the entire fortune and the factories. As of 1881, he modernized his companies and created an industrial group by taking participations in other companies, such as the steel factories ''Fabrique de Fer de Charleroi'' (Fafer) in

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

and in Braine-le-Comte, coal mines and

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...

industry ''les Glaces de Moustier-sur-Sambre'' which would become

Glaverbel AGC Glass Europe is an international glass manufacturing group based in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, and the European branch of the AGC Inc. Group. AGC Glass Europe currently employs some 14,500 people.

. On 1 September 1888, Gustave Boël was one of the first in Belgium who established a participation in the profits for the employees of his factory. In 1912, the ''Etablissements Ernest Boucquéau'' would become the '' Usines Gustave Boël''.

Political career

Gustave Boël also inherited the liberal political and philosophical ideas of Boucquéau. As a progressive liberal, he embarked on a political career. On 11 October 1880, Boël became a member of the communal council of

La Louvière La Louvière (; wa, El Lovire) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boussoit, Haine-Saint-Paul, Haine-Saint-Pierre, Houdeng-Aimeries, Hou ...

, and on 14 November of the same year, he became

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

. On 4 May 1881, Boël became

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...

of La Louvière. During his mandate, he supported many local initiatives and provided financial support for the construction of the hospital of La Louvière. In 1883, he resigned as burgomaster and became senator from 12 April 1883 until 8 July 1884. Asked by his liberal political friends, he again became senator on 14 June 1892, and from that moment onwards, Boël would stay senator for the Liberal Party until his death in 1912.

Sources

* Duchène, C., ''Biographie Nationale, Brussel, Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux Arts, 1866–1986, XXXIV'', 1968, col. 84–87. * Dutrieue, Anne-Myriam, in: Kurgan-van Hentenrijk, Ginette, Jaumain, Serge, Montens, Valérie, a.o., ''Dictionnaire des patrons en Belgique. Les hommes, les entreprises, les reseaux'', Bruxelles, De Boeck & Larcier, 1996, p. 60-61. * Ginette Kurgan and Erik Buyst, ''100 grands patrons du XXe siècle en Belgique'', Alain Renier ed., Brussels, 1999, pp. 26–27 et 235. {{DEFAULTSORT:Boel, Gustave 1837 births 1912 deaths People from La Louvière Belgian businesspeople Belgian politicians Walloon people