Pol-Clovis, Baron Boël (2 August 1868 – 13 July 1941) was a
Belgian industrialist, Director of the ''
Usines Gustave Boël'' in
La Louvière
La Louvière (; wa, El Lovire) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Boussoit, Haine-Saint-Paul, Haine-Saint-Pierre, Houdeng-Aimeries, Hou ...
, and
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 ...
politician.
Born in
Saint-Vaast, he was a son of
Gustave Boël
Gustave André Boël (18 May 1837 – 31 March 1912) was a Belgian industrialist and liberal politician. He was the father of Pol Clovis Boël.
Career
Boël was the son of farmers (Salasse farm), growing up with four brothers and a sister. Boà ...
. He married
Marthe de Kerchove de Denterghem. They had 4 children (3 boys and 1 girl):
René Boël (1899–1990) married first Yvonne Solvay (1896–1930) and later Mathilde de Jonghe (1909–2008);
Max Boël (1901–1975) married Anne Marie Guinotte);
Lucien Boël (1903–1999) married Micheline Mallet; and their daughter
Marie-Anne Boël (1909–1996) married
Charles-Emmanuel Janssen.
Pol-Clovis youngest sister
Eva Ernestine Boël (1883–1956) married
Felix Goblet d'Alviella.
Career
When Gustave Boël died in 1912, his son Pol-Clovis carried on the diversification of the family business. One of his most prominent successes in this area was in chemicals with the ''Société anonyme de fabrication des engrais azoté'' (Safea) (
nitrate
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion
A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
s). Pol-Clovis also invested in
Union Chimique Belge (UCB), founded by
Emmanuel Janssen (the father of his son-in-law Charles-Emmanuel Janssen), and in
Solvay Solvay may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Brussels, Belgium
* Solvay Conference, founded by Ernest Solvay, deals with open questions in physics and chemistry
* Solvay Indupa, an Argentin ...
, founded by
Ernest Solvay, the grandfather of his daughter-in-law
Yvonne Solvay.
In 1928, Pol-Clovis Boël founded a financial entity: ''l'Union financière Boël'', ancestor of several financial holdings, such as
Sofina,
Henex,
Glaces de Moustier-sur-Sambre. After World War I, \Boël entered the world of Belgian finance, taking part in the creation of the
Bank of Brussels and the
Société Générale de Belgique. In 1929, he was granted the title of baron by King
Albert I of Belgium
Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934.
Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-S ...
.
Pol Clovis died in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in 1941.
Sources
* Dutrieue, Anne-Myriam, in : Kurgan-van Hentenrijk, Ginette, Jaumain, Serge, Montens, Valérie, ea, ''Dictionnaire des patrons en Belgique. Les hommes, les entreprises, les reseaux, Bruxelles'', De Boeck and Larcier, 1996, p. 61-62.
* Douxchamps, José, ''Présence nobiliaire au parlement belge (1830–1970)''. Notes généalogiques, Wépion-Namen, José Douxchamps, 2003, p. 13.
1868 births
1912 deaths
People from La Louvière
Belgian businesspeople
Belgian politicians
Walloon people
{{Belgium-business-bio-stub