The Party for Freedom and Progress ( nl, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang; french: Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès; german: Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt, PVV-PLP) was a liberal political party in

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 ...

which existed from 1961 until 1992. The party was the successor 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 l ...

, which had roots dating back to 1846. It was succeeded in the

Flemish Community of Belgium The Flemish Community ( nl, Vlaamse Gemeenschap ; french: Communauté flamande ; german: Flämische Gemeinschaft ) is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilitie ...

by the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) and in the

French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...

by the Liberal Reformist Party, '' Parti des Réformes et des Libertés de Wallonie'' and the current-day Reformist Movement. In the German-speaking Community, it still exists as the Party for Freedom and Progress.

History

Foundation of a new party

In 1961,

Omer Vanaudenhove Omer Rudolphe Jean, Viscount Vanaudenhove (3 December 1913 – 26 November 1994) was a Belgian liberal politician, mayor and minister. A businessman, Vanaudenhove was an owner of a shoe factory. He was burgomaster of Diest (1947–1955 and 1974 ...

, leader of the Liberal Party, reorganised it into the Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès (PVV/PLP). The new party, among other things, jettisoned the Liberals' traditional

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

. In 1965 the party obtained a victory in the general elections with 21.6% of the votes. In 1966, the PVV joined the government of Paul Vanden Boeynants. The liberal ministers during this period were

Willy De Clercq Willy Clarisse Elvire Hector, Viscount De Clercq (8 July 1927 – 28 October 2011) was a Belgian liberal politician. De Clercq was born in Ghent, son of Frans de Clercq.Etat présent de la noblesse belge 2015, p. 62 After his law and notariat s ...

, Jacques Van Offelen,

Frans Grootjans Frans Edward Elisabeth Grootjans (24 January 1922 – 20 February 1999), was a Belgian politician and minister for the PVV. Grootjans was born at Wilrijk. He became a licentiate in the trade and consular sciences and was chief editor and dir ...

, Herman Vanderpoorten, Charles Poswick and August De Winter.

Separation between PVV and PRL

On 27 June 1971 the party was split up in a Flemish (PVV) and Walloon party (the Liberal Reformist Party, PRL). Only a few months later, on 24 September 1971, the parliament was dissolved. In the elections which followed The Flemish PVV gained votes, but the Walloon PRL lost in the elections. In this period (1971–1992) the PVV ministers in the government were:

, Herman Vanderpoorten, Herman De Croo, Karel Poma, Alfred Vreven, André Kempinaire,

Guy Verhofstadt Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2009 to 2019, and has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium ...

, Louis Waltniel, Jean Pede,

Patrick Dewael Patrick Yvonne Hugo Dewael, (; born 13 October 1955) is a liberal Belgian politician. A member of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (''Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten'', VLD), he served as Minister-President of Flanders from 1999 to 2003. He is ...

, Ward Beysen, and Jacky Buchmann. The PRL ministers in the government were:

André Damseaux André Damseaux (5 March 1937 – 29 March 2007) was a Belgian politician, second Minister-President of Wallonia and Member of the European Parliament. Life André Damseaux was born on 5 March 1937 in Verviers, Belgium. In 1961, Damseaux gaine ...

, François-Xavier de Donnea, Jean Gol,

Louis Olivier Louis Olivier (1758 – February 4, 1816) was a political figure in Lower Canada. He was born Louis-Marie-Olivier Olivier at Berthierville, Quebec, Berthier in 1758, the son of a France, French soldier from Paris. He became a merchant at Ber ...

, Charles Poswick, and

Michel Toussaint Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), S ...

Flanders: VLD

In Flanders, the PVV ceased to exist in 1992. On 15 November 1992 the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) was founded.

French-speaking Community: MR

In 1976, the name of the party was changed into Parti de Réformes et de la Liberté en Wallonie (PRLW). In 1979, the name was changed to Liberal Reformist Party (PRL) after the merger with the Liberal Party of Brussels. In March 2002 the PRL merged with the German-speaking Party for Freedom and Progress (PFF) of the East Cantons, the Democratic Front of Francophones (FDF) and the Citizens' Movement for Change (MCC) into the Reformist Movement (MR).

Presidents

Presidents PVV-PLP

* 1961 - 1968 :

* 1968 - 1969 :

Norbert Hougardy Norbert Isidore Joseph Hougardy (1 November 1909 – 3 January 1985) was a Belgian liberal politician. Hougardy was a commercial director and municipality Council member in Sint-Genesius-Rode. He became senator (1956 –) for the PVV and also ...

and

Milou Jeunehomme Emile-Edgar (Milou) Jeunehomme (1924–2001) was a Belgian liberal politician. On 15 January 1958 he became a member of parliament for the district Liège. He played for a long time an important role in the liberal party under Omer Vanaudenh ...

(co-presidency) * 1969 - 1972 :

Pierre Descamps Pierre Paul Louis Albert César Descamps (; 15 October 1916 – 19 April 1992) was a Belgian politician and burgomaster for the PLP. Descamps was born in Ath; he was a licentiate in philosophy and literature and an industrialist. He was burgoma ...

Presidents PVV

* 1972 - 1973 :

* 1973 - 1977 :

* 1977 - 1982 :

* 1982 - 1985 :

* 1985 - 1989 : Annemie Neyts * 1989 - 1992 :

Notable members

* Lucienne Herman-Michielsens (1926–1995) * Jean Rey (1902–1983),

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...

Electoral results

Federal Parliament

Chamber

Regional parliaments

Brussels Parliament

European Parliament

Sources

Liberal Archive

History of liberalism in Belgium
* Th. Luykx, M. Platel, ''Politieke geschiedenis van België'', 2 vol., Kluwer, 1985 * E. Witte, J. Craeybeckx, A. Meynen, ''Politieke geschiedenis van België'', Standaard, 1997 {{Authority control Defunct political parties in Belgium Conservative liberal parties Classical liberal parties Liberal parties in Belgium 1961 establishments in Belgium 1992 disestablishments in Belgium Political parties established in 1961 Political parties disestablished in 1992