Léo Collard (11 July 1902 – 27 January 1981) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

politician in the

Belgian Socialist Party nl, Belgische Socialistische Partij , logo = Logo of the Belgian Socialist Party.png , caption = The fist and rose emblem used by the party from 1973. , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Achille Van Acker (first)André Cools (last) ...

(PSB–BSP) who served as minister of public education (1946 and 1954–1958) and Mayor of

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

(1953–1974). In 1955, Collard tried to defund non-state schools and reverse an increase in teachers' pay brought in by the previous Christian Social Party government, while massively expanding state-owned schools. This led to the most violent phase of political conflict over educational funding in post-war Belgium, known as the

Second School War The Second School War (french: Deuxième guerre scolaire, nl, Tweede schoolstrijd) was a political crisis in Belgium over the issue of religion in education. The conflict lasted between 1950 and 1959 and was ended by a cross-party agreement, know ...

, in which the Christian Social Party and the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

pressed for parity between free and state-run education. Collard also introduced a requirement that all teachers be officially certified, making many priests and members of religious orders already working as teachers ineligible for the positions they held. In 1963 Leo Collard was appointed

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 o ...

References

External links

40 Hurt In Brussels Riot

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

YouTube Channel. 1902 births 1981 deaths People from Quévy Walloon people Belgian Socialist Party politicians Belgian Ministers of State Ministers of Education of Belgium Government ministers of Belgium Mayors of places in Belgium Walloon movement activists Mons 20th-century Belgian politicians Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Belgium-mayor-stub