Marie Janson (23 July 1873 – 8 March 1960) 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 ...

politician and the first woman to serve in the

Belgian senate The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parlia ...

. She was a daughter of

Paul Janson Paul Janson (11 April 1840 – 19 April 1913) was a Walloon Belgian liberal politician.Jean Francis ''Mes belges années'' 1974 "Paul Janson ne demeura que quatre ans dans la cité liégeoise car sa famille vint s'établir à Ixelles, rue d ...

and Anna-Augustine Amoré. Born 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 ...

, her father

was leading member of the progressive wing of the Belgian liberal movement and founder of the Fédération progressiste. Her brother

Paul-Émile Janson Paul-Émile (Paul Emil) Janson (30 May 1872 – 3 March 1944) was a francophone Belgian liberal politician and the prime minister from 1937 to 1938. During the German occupation, he was arrested as a political prisoner and died in a German concen ...

served as

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 ...

. Marie's mother, Anna-Augustine Amoré was a well-educated woman of middle-origins who had worked as teacher at

Isabelle Gatti de Gamond Isabelle Laure Gatti de Gamond (28 July 1839 – 11 October 1905) was a Belgian educationalist, feminist, and politician. Life Isabelle Gatti was the second of four daughters born to Giovanni Gatti, an Italian artist, and feminist writer Zo� ...

's school before her marriage; Marie herself was educated there. On 22 July 1894, she married lawyer and playwright

Paul Spaak Paul Louis François Spaak (5 July 1871 – 8 May 1936) was a Belgian lawyer, poet, literary historian, and playwright. Born in Ixelles, Spaak graduated in law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in 1894. On 22 July 1894, he married Mar ...

. The couple had four children, of whom

Paul-Henri Spaak Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman. Along with Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer he was a leader in the formation of the ...

, later Belgian Prime Minister like his uncle Paul-Émile, was the most famous. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Marie was active in social work and this led her to join the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

. She was elected to the municipal council of Saint-Gilles in 1921, and the same year was selected by the party's executive, led by

Émile Vandervelde Emile Vandervelde (25 January 1866 – 27 December 1938) was a Belgian socialist politician. Nicknamed "the boss" (''le patron''), Vandervelde was a leading figure in the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP) and in international socialism. Career Emi ...

, to serve in the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parlia ...

. She continued to serve as a co-opted senator until 1958. Her long service led to her presiding over the opening of the Senate on 11 November 1952. Her granddaughter

Antoinette Spaak Antoinette Spaak (27 June 192828 August 2020) was a Belgian politician and leading figure within Francophone and regionalist politics in Brussels. She was born into a noted political family and entered politics as part of the regionalist Democra ...

followed in her footsteps, achieving another first: first woman to lead a Belgian political party, the

Democratic Front of Francophones Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

References

* Piette, Valérie, "JANSON Marie (1873–1960), épouse SPAAK" in E. Gubin, C. Jacques, V. Piette & J. Puissant (eds), ''Dictionnaire des femmes belges: XIXe et XXe siècles.'' Bruxelles: Éditions Racine, 2006. 1873 births 1960 deaths Politicians from Brussels Belgian Labour Party politicians Belgian Socialist Party politicians 20th-century Belgian women politicians 20th-century Belgian politicians Women members of the Senate (Belgium) {{Brussels-politician-stub