Paul Guillaume, Viscount van Zeeland (11 November 1893 – 22 September 1973) was a Belgian lawyer, economist, Catholic politician, and statesman born in
Soignies
Soignies (; nl, Zinnik, ; pcd, Sougniye; wa, Sougniye) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
It consists of the following districts: Casteau, Chaussée-Notre-Dame-Louvignies, Horrues, Naast, Neufvilles, ...
.
Van Zeeland was a professor of law and later director of the Institute of Economic Science at the
Catholic University of Leuven
University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to:
* Old University of Leuven (1425–1797)
* State University of Leuven (1817–1835)
* Catholic University of ...
(
Leuven
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
), and vice-governor of the
National Bank of Belgium
The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; nl, Nationale Bank van België, french: Banque nationale de Belgique, german: Belgische Nationalbank) has been the central bank of Belgium since 1850. The National Bank of Belgium was established with 100% pr ...
.
In March 1935, he became the
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
of a government of national unity (a coalition comprising the three major parties:
Catholics
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 ...
,
Liberals and
Socialists
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...
). Given decree powers, he abated a national economic crisis by devaluing the currency and implementing expansive budgetary policies.
Van Zeeland's government resigned in the spring of 1936 due to the agitation of
Rexism
The Rexist Party (french: Parti Rexiste), or simply Rex, was a far-right Catholic, nationalist, authoritarian and corporatist political party active in Belgium from 1935 until 1945. The party was founded by a journalist, Léon Degrelle, (a Belgian fascist party). On 24 May 1936,
a general election took place. The Labour party won 70 of 202 seats (minus 3), Zeeland's
Catholic Party 61 seats (minus 18) and the new Rexists 21 seats. Van Zeeland continued as Prime Minister leading a government of national unity, composed of the three major parties (Catholics, Socialists and Liberals).
On 2 June 1936, a
wildcat strike
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
among dockworkers in the
Port of Antwerp
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...
broke out and quickly spread to other industrial regions without the endorsement of the country's major trades unions. It was characterised by the new tactic of
workplace occupations.
The
Belgian strike was unusual in uniting socialist and Catholic trade union federations in support. Van Zeeland agreed to convene a ''National Labour Conference'' (''Conférence Nationale du Travail'') on 17 June 1936 to bring together trade union and company representatives. It brokered a compromise agreement including the introduction of a legal
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
, six days'
paid holidays
Annual leave is a period of paid time off work granted by employers to employees to be used for whatever the employee wishes. Depending on the employer's policies, differing number of days may be offered, and the employee may be required to giv ...
, and a maximum 40-hour working week for workers in particular industrial occupations. The strike formally ended on 2 July 1936. Van Zeeland was PM until 23 November 1937. After proclaiming martial law, his second government suppressed the Rexists. It introduced measures against unemployment, which helped ease the political tensions. Also during his second term, Belgium gave up its military alliance with France and reverted to its traditional "neutrality" policy, now dubbed a "policy of independence".
In spring 1937, the rexist
Léon Degrelle
Léon Joseph Marie Ignace Degrelle (; 15 June 1906 – 31 March 1994) was a Belgian Walloon politician and Nazi collaborator. He rose to prominence in Belgium in the 1930s as the leader of the Rexist Party (Rex). During the German occupatio ...
blamed him for having received money from the Belgian Nation Bank. Zeeland denied that but a commission found out he had received 330.000 bfr. Zeeland resigned and the king named
Paul-Emile Janson as new PM.
In 1939, Van Zeeland became president of the ''Committee on Refugees'', established in London, and was made High Commissioner for repatriating displaced Belgians in 1944. In 1946, he was one of the founders of the
European League for Economic Cooperation The European League for Economic Cooperation or ELEC (french: Ligue Européenne de Coopération Économique, LECE) is an independent political advocacy group which advocates for closer European integration.
Established in 1946, ELEC was one of the ...
.
After the war, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in several Catholic governments between 1949 and 1954 and as economic advisor to the Belgian government and to the council of ministers of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two Nor ...
. He was Honorary Secretary General of the Steering Committee of the
Bilderberg meeting.
In 2013, to the consternation of his family, it was discovered that he had founded a Panamanian
offshore company
The term "offshore company" or “offshore corporation” is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to:
* a company, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshoring business pr ...
.
"Offshore Leaks: Kleindochter oud-premier Van Zeeland zet stap opzij op kabinet-Milquet"
''De Morgen'' (Belgium), 13 April 2013
See also
* Belgian general strike of 1936
References
External links
*
Paul van Zeeland
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeeland, Paul Van
1893 births
1973 deaths
Belgian economists
20th-century Belgian lawyers
Belgian Ministers of State
Foreign ministers of Belgium
Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group
Prime Ministers of Belgium
People from Soignies