Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Baron Théophile Wahis (; 27 April 1844–26 January 1921) was a Belgian soldier and colonial

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leader ...

who served as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

and, subsequently, the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

for two terms between 1891 and 1912. He was the longest ruling of Belgian colonial governors.

Career

Théophile Wahis was born in

Menen Menen (; french: Menin ; vls, Mêenn or ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem. The city is situated on the French ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

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 the ...

, on 27 April 1844 to a military family. He entered the

Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérar ...

and studied at the Royal Military Academy 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 ...

. During the Franco-Mexican War (1864–67), Wahis volunteered for service in the Belgian Legion sent to Mexico to fight alongside French and Imperial Mexican Forces. Wahis served with distinction in Mexico, returning to the Belgian military in 1867 but was frustrated by the lack of promotion. Through General Alfred van der Smissen, the former commander of the Belgian Legion in Mexico, Wahis was introduced to

King Leopold II * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

as a possible candidate for the King's private venture in the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

Proclamation on the founding of the Belgian Congo

In 1890-91, Wahis was posted to Boma as a senior civil servant in the Free State administration. His success in the role led to rapid promotion and, in 1892, he was designated the state's next

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, replacing Camille Janssen. Wahis' military background had a strong influence on governance in the Free State and contributed to its increasingly harsh policies of rule. He clashed particularly with more liberal colonial figures, such as Félix Fuchs and

Félicien Cattier Félicien Cattier (1869–1946) was a very prominent Belgian banker, financier and philanthropist. He was also professor of law at the Free University of Brussels. He was governor of the powerful trust, the Société Générale de Belgique and ...

, whose own backgrounds were as civilian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor ...

s. According to historians Lewis H. Gann and Peter Duignan, Wahis' appointment "symbolized the increasingly exploitative nature of the Free State's administration" and the growing "Belgianization" of the colony's administration. Wahis was a strong defender of the Free State's public record in the international press. For his services to the state, he received the honorary rank of Lieutenant General and the title of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...

in 1901. After Belgium was forced by international pressure to annex the Free State in 1908, Wahis continued as Governor-General of the new

. He resigned in 1912 and was succeeded by Fuchs. Retiring from colonial administration,

Wahis became a businessman with a position in a company in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

and in the Congo's '' Compagnie du Katanga''. He died in January 1921. A street in Brussels and a street in Menen are named after him.Théophile Wahis

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Career

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