Hippolyte Désiré Metdepenningen (1799–1881) was a Belgian lawyer, president of the

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 ...

Bar Association and a politician. After Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 he became a municipal councilor on the Orangist list. In 1846 he was co-founder of the

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 ...

, which was the first political party of Belgium. In 1848 he retired from politics. For many years he was Worshipful Master of the Ghent lodge ''Le Septentrion''. On 20 June 1886, a statue was inaugurated in front of the Court of Justice in Ghent by sculptor

Julien Dillens Julien Dillens (8 June 1849 – 24 December 1904) was a Belgian sculptor born in Antwerp, the son of the painter Hendrick Joseph Dillens. Biography Dillens studied under Eugène Simonis at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts. In 1877 he received ...

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Hippolyte Metdepenningen
Politicians from Ghent 19th-century Belgian lawyers 1799 births 1881 deaths Jurists from Ghent {{Flanders-politician-stub