Paul Pastur (7 February 1866 – 8 June 1938) was a Belgian lawyer and politician from Hainaut. He obtained a law degree of the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

, and started working at the bar of

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

in 1893. Pastur was born on 7 February 1886 in

Marcinelle Marcinelle (; wa, Mårcinele) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Until 1977, it was a municipality of its own. Home of the comics publisher Dupuis, as many popul ...

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 ...

. Impressed by the riots of 1886, he became involved in defending the 27 workmen supposedly implied in the

Great Plot Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

. In 1892, together with

Jules Destrée Jules Destrée (; Marcinelle, 21 August 1863 – Brussels, 3 January 1936) was a Walloon lawyer, cultural critic and socialist politician. The trials subsequent to the strikes of 1886 determined his commitment within the Belgian Labour Party. ...

, he founded the Democratic Federation. He devoted himself to more egalitarian education and in 1903 he founded the Université du Travail in Charleroi. In 1927, he introduced Mother's Day in Belgium, based on the American example. Paul Pastur was a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

."Paul Pastur"
. Accessed 21 August 2008.

References

External links

Université du Travail
1866 births 1938 deaths Politicians from Charleroi Belgian socialists University of Liège alumni Walloon movement activists 20th-century Belgian lawyers {{Wallonia-politician-stub