The Belgian Minister of the Colonies (french: Ministre des Colonies, nl, Minister van Koloniën) was a Belgian parliamentarian who was responsible for the territories of the
colonial empire in Central Africa from 1908 to 1962, comprising the
colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
of the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
(1908–60) and the
international mandate of
Ruanda-Urundi
Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a colonial territory, once part of German East Africa, which was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under militar ...
(1916–62). The exact title was changed on several occasions.
Ministerial title
For most of the existence of the post, office holders were known as "Minister of the Colonies" (''Ministre des Colonies'' or ''Minister van Koloniën''). From the accession of in November 1958, however, the ministerial title changed to "Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi" (''Ministre du Congo belge et du Ruanda-Urundi'' or ''Minister van Belgisch-Congo en Ruanda-Urundi''). On 30 June 1960, with the independence of the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
, the title changed to "Minister of African Affairs" (''Ministre des affaires africaines'' or ''Minister van afrikaanse zaken'') whose only office holders were
August de Schryver and
Harold Charles d'Aspremont Lynden
Harold René Charles Marie, comte d'Aspremont Lynden (17 January 1914 - 1 April 1967) was a Belgian cabinet minister, politician of the Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct), PSC-CVP and Cavalry Lieutenant-Colonel. He is also notable as Belgiu ...
.
In addition to official colonial ministers, two individuals served as
ministers without portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...
with a colonial brief between 1959 and 1960.
Raymond Scheyven was "Minister without portfolio, charged with the economic and financial affairs of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi" while
Walter Ganshof van der Meersch
Walter Jean Ganshof van der Meersch (18 May 1900 – 12 September 1993) was a Belgian jurist and lawyer. He competed in the four-man bobsledding event at the 1928 Winter Olympics
The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olymp ...
was "Minister without portfolio, charged with general affairs in Africa".
List of ministers
The following is a list of ministers, cited by historian
Guy Vanthemsche in his book ''Belgium and the Congo, 1885-1980'':
;Political parties
;;''Christian Democrat''
, later:
;;''Liberal''
;;''Socialist''
See also
*
Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs
The Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (FPS Foreign Affairs) is the foreign affairs ministry of Belgium and is responsible for Belgian foreign policy, relations with the European Union, development ...
*
Bibliothèque Africaine, overseen by the ministry starting in 1908
*
Archives Africaines (Belgium), containing 5 km of colonial ministry-related records
*
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 Belgian monarchs
This is a list of Monarchy of Belgium, Belgian monarchs from 1831 when the first Belgian king, Leopold I of Belgium, Leopold I, ascended the throne, after Belgium seceded from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kingdom of the Netherlands durin ...
*
*
List of presidents of Burundi
*
List of presidents of Rwanda
This article lists the presidents of Rwanda since the creation of the office in 1961 (during the Rwandan Revolution), to the present day.
The president of Rwanda is the head of state and head of executive of the Republic of Rwanda. The presid ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*{{cite book, last=Vanhove, first=Julien, title=Histoire du Ministère des Colonies, location=Brussels, publisher=Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences, date=1968, url=http://www.kaowarsom.be/documents/MEMOIRES_VERHANDELINGEN/Sciences_morales_politique/Hum.Sc.(NS)_T.XXXV,3_VANHOVE%20J._Histoire%20du%20minist%C3%A8re%20des%20colonies_1968.pdf
Colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
Belgian colonial empire
Belgian Congo
Ruanda-Urundi
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...