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 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 ...

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 th ...

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 li ...

, which had roots dating back to 1846. It was succeeded in the Flemish Community of Belgium by the

Flemish Liberals and Democrats french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts , abbreviation = Open Vld , logo = , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert , foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld) , predecessor = P ...

(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 The Reformist Movement (french: Mouvement Réformateur, MR) is a liberal French-speaking political party in Belgium. MR is traditionally a conservative-liberal party, but it also contains social-liberal factions. The party is in coalition as pa ...

. In the

German-speaking Community The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...

, it still exists as the

Party for Freedom and Progress 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 which existed from 1961 unti ...

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 Paul Emile François Henri Vanden Boeynants (; 22 May 1919 – 9 January 2001) was a Belgian politician.
Rulers. Retrieved 30 August 2014.< ...

. 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 Jacques Louis Gustave Van Offelen (Isleworth, 18 October 1916 – Uccle, 22 February 2006) was a Belgian liberal politician, burgomaster and minister for the PVV. He graduated from the ''Institut Supérieur de Commerce de l'Etat'' (1938) in Ant ...

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 Herman Vanderpoorten (; 25 August 1922 – 3 September 1984) was a Belgian liberal politician. He was a son of the politician Arthur Vanderpoorten, the father of Marleen Vanderpoorten and an uncle of Patrick Dewael. Education He obtained a law ...

Charles Poswick Charles Marie Jean Joseph Elvire Ghislain baron Poswick (6 October 1924 – 28 July 1994) was a Belgian politician for the PLP. Poswick was doctor in Law and licentiate in commercial and financial sciences. He became para-commando and broker. ...

and

August De Winter August Maria Christiaan De Winter (12 May 1925 – 30 July 2005) was a liberal Belgian politician of the PVV. Between 1965 and 1971, he was burgomaster of Grimbergen. He was State Secretary of the regional economy of Brussels in the government ...

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 De Croo Herman Francies Joseph De Croo (born 12 August 1937) is a Belgian politician of the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats. First elected in March 1968, he is the longest serving Belgian member of parliament, serving uninterrupted until 2014. He is ...

Karel Poma Karel Emiel Hubert, Baron Poma (14 March 1920 – 27 December 2014) was a Belgian liberal and politician for the PVV. He was a son of Carolus Poma, who was a lieutenant of the Antwerp fire brigade, and subsequently council member (1946–195 ...

Alfred Vreven Alfred (Freddy) Marie Daniel Ghislain Joseph Vreven (24 March 1937 – 15 June 2000) was a Belgian liberal politician for the PVV. He was the son of the former liberal minister Raoul Vreven. Vreven was a notary and became a member of parliame ...

André Kempinaire André Marguerite Guillaume Kempinaire (26 January 1929 – 8 September 2012) was a Belgian liberal politician for the Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV).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 Louis Gustaaf Waltniel (28 August 1925 – 29 December 2001) was a Belgian liberal politician and industrialist. He held a master's degree in economic sciences. He was member of the city council, an alderman and finally burgomaster of Ninove (1 ...

Jean Pede Jean Pede (7 January 1927 – 23 July 2013) was a Belgium, Belgian liberal politician for the Party for Freedom and Progress, PVV. Biography Professionally Jean Pede was a notary, in a long line of notaries, from his father's as well as from his ...

, Patrick Dewael,

Ward Beysen Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

, and

Jacky Buchmann Jacques Jean Henri Buchmann (5 March 1932 – 24 May 2018) was a Belgian politician. A member of the Party for Freedom and Progress, he was first elected to the Chamber of Representatives in 1974. Buchmann lost reelection in 1977, but regained hi ...

. The PRL ministers in the government were: André Damseaux,

François-Xavier de Donnea François Xavier Gustave Marie Joseph Corneille Hubert, Knight de Donnea de Hamoir (born 29 April 1941 in Edegem, Antwerp) is a Belgian politician and a former mayor of the City of Brussels and Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Regio ...

Jean Gol Jean Gol (8 February 1942 – 18 September 1995) was a Belgium, Belgian politician for the Liberalism, liberal Walloon Region, Walloon party Parti Réformateur Libéral (PRL). He was a minister, on several occasions, in the Belgian government, in ...

, Louis Olivier,

, and Michel Toussaint.

Flanders: VLD

In Flanders, the PVV ceased to exist in 1992. On 15 November 1992 the

(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

(PFF) of the

East Cantons Eupen-Malmedy is a small, predominantly German-speaking region in eastern Belgium. It consists of three administrative cantons around the towns of Eupen, Malmedy, and Sankt Vith which encompass some . Elsewhere in Belgium, the region is commonly ...

, the

Democratic Front of Francophones Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

(FDF) and the

Citizens' Movement for Change Citizens' Movement for Change (french: Mouvement des Citoyens pour le Changement, MCC) is a Christian-democratic political party in the French Community of Belgium founded by Gérard Deprez in 1998. Deprez was the leader of the Francophone Christ ...

(MCC) into the

(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 a ...

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

Presidents PVV

* 1972 - 1973 :

* 1973 - 1977 :

* 1977 - 1982 :

* 1982 - 1985 :

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 ...

* 1985 - 1989 :

Annemie Neyts Anne-Marie Cécile J. Neyts-Uyttebroeck (; born 17 June 1944) is a Politics of Belgium, Belgian politician and was a Member of the European Parliament for Flanders with the Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten, Open Flemish Liberals and Democrat ...

* 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