Pierre (Pieter) Jacques François de Decker (25 January 1812 – 4 January 1891) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

Roman Catholic politician, statesman and author. He was educated at a

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school, studied law at Paris, and became one of the editors of the ''

Revue de Bruxelles ''Revue de Bruxelles'' was a review published in Brussels from 1837 to 1850. The founding editors were Adolphe Deschamps and Pierre de Decker Pierre (Pieter) Jacques François de Decker (25 January 1812 – 4 January 1891) was a Belgian Roman Cat ...

''. In 1839 he was elected to the Belgian lower chamber, where he gained a great reputation for oratory. He was a member of parliament from 1839 to 1866. As such he took historic initiatives to promote the Dutch language that had lost ground in political life since the

Belgian Revolution of 1830 Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

(against the Union with Holland as the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

) even though the majority of the population spoke Dutch. De Decker was at the origin of a 'Petition in favour of the Flemish language' in 1840 and of the setting up of a 'Committee on Flemish Grievances' in 1855. In 1855 he became Minister of the Interior and the

prime minister of Belgium german: Premierminister von Belgien , insignia = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Coat of arms , insigniaalt = , flag = Government ...

. As such he was the first leader of the government since the revolution of 1830 who dared to address the parliament in Dutch (Flemish). He attempted, by combining the moderate elements of the

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and

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parties, the impossible task of resolving the educational and other questions then dividing Belgium. In 1866 he retired from politics and went into business, with disastrous results. He became involved in financial speculations which lost him his good name as well as the greater part of his fortune; and, though he was never proved to have been more than the victim of clever operators, when in 1871 he was appointed by the Catholic cabinet governor of

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, the outcry was so great that he resigned the appointment and retired definitively into private life. He died in 1891.

Bibliography

De Decker, who was a member of the Belgian academy, wrote several historical and other works of value, of which the most notable are: * ''Etudes historiques et critiques sur les monts-de-piété en Belgique'' (Brussels, 1844) * ''De l'influence du libre arbitre de l'homme sur les fails sociaux'' (1848) * ''L'esprit de parti et l'esprit national'' (1852) * ''Etude politique sur le vicomte Ch. Vilain Xliii'' (1879) * ''Episodes de l'histoire de l'art en Belgique'' (1883) * ''Biographie de H. Conscience'' (1885)

References

External links

Pierre de Decker
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decker, Pierre De 1812 births 1891 deaths Prime Ministers of Belgium Governors of Limburg (Belgium) Belgian writers in French Catholic Party (Belgium) politicians People from Zele