Le gouvernement belge à Sainte-Adresse 1914-1918

The De Broqueville government in Sainte-Adresse refers to two successive

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 ...

governments, led by

Charles de Broqueville Charles Marie Pierre Albert, 1st Count de Broqueville (4 December 1860 – 5 September 1940) was the prime minister of Belgium, serving during World War I. Before 1914 Charles de Broqueville was born into an old noble family with its roots in ...

, which served as

governments in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile u ...

during the German occupation of Belgium in

World War I 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 ...

. They were based in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

after October 1914. The first government, known as the First de Broqueville government, was a

Catholic 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 ...

government which elected in 1911 and continued until 1916, when it was joined by Socialists and Liberals expanding it into the Second de Broqueville government which would last until 1 June 1918. In November 1914, the vast majority of Belgian territory (2,598 out of 2,636

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

) was under German occupation. The only portion of Belgium that remained controlled by the Kingdom of Belgium in exile was the strip of territory behind the

Yser Front The Yser Front (french: Front de l'Yser, nl, Front aan de IJzer or ), sometimes termed the West Flemish Front in British writing, was a section of the Western Front during World War I held by Belgian troops from October 1914 until 1918. The front ...

Exile in Le Havre

Centenary of exile in Sainte-Adresse of belgium government 2

In October 1914, the government moved to the French coastal city of

. It was established in the large ''Immeuble Dufayel'' ("Dufayel Building"), built by the French businessman Georges Dufayel in 1911, situated in the suburb of

Sainte-Adresse Sainte-Adresse () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the region of Normandy, France. Geography A coastal suburb situated some northwest of Le Havre city centre, at the junction of the D147 and the D940. The English Channel forms t ...

. The whole area of Sainte-Adresse, which still carries the national colours of Belgium on its shield, was leased to Belgium by the French government as a temporary administrative centre while the rest of Belgium was occupied. The area had a sizeable Belgian émigré population, and even used Belgian postage stamps.

King Albert I 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 ...

considered that it was inappropriate for the King to leave his own country and so did not join his government in Le Havre. Instead, he established his staff in the Flemish town of

Veurne Veurne (; french: Furnes, italic=no, ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper an ...

, just behind the

, in the last strip of unoccupied Belgian territory.

Composition

The de Broqueville government comprised: *Baron

(

) as Prime Minister (known as ''chef du cabinet'' until November 1918). *

Henry Carton de Wiart :''This article uses a Belgian surname: the surname is Carton de Wiart, not Wiart.'' Henry Victor Marie Ghislain, Count Carton de Wiart (31 January 1869 – 6 May 1951) was the prime minister of Belgium from 20 November 1920 to 6 May 1921. He w ...

(Catholic), Minister of Justice *

Julien Davignon Henri François Julien Claude, viscount Davignon (3 December 1854 – 12 March 1916) was a Belgian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1907–1916). Born in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Davignon was a member of the Catholic Party. He ...

(Catholic), Minister of Foreign Affairs until 18 January 1916 *

Paul Berryer Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

(Catholic), Minister of the Interior *

Prosper Poullet Prosper Antoine Marie Joseph, Viscount Poullet (5 March 1868 – 3 December 1937) was a Belgian politician. Born in Leuven, Poullet studied law at the Catholic University of Leuven and was later a professor at the university. He was of memb ...

(Catholic), Minister of Arts and Sciences, as well as Minister for Economic Affairs after 1 January 1918 *

Aloys Van de Vyvere Aloys (Alois) Jean Maria Joseph, Viscount Van de Vyvere (8 June 1871 – 22 October 1961) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician. Biography Born in Tielt, Van de Vyvere studied law and philosophy and worked as a lawyer in Ghent, where he se ...

(Catholic), Minister of Finance * Georges Helleputte (Catholic), Minister of Agriculture and Public Works * Armand Hubert (Catholic), Minister of Industry and Work * Paul Segers (Catholic), Minister of Railways, the Marine, and the PTT * Armand De Ceuninck (technocrat), Minister of War after 4 August 1917 *

Jules Renkin Jules Laurent Jean Louis Renkin (3 December 1862 – 15 July 1934) was a Belgian politician. He served as the minister of colonies for the Belgian Congo from 30 October 1908 to 21 November 1918. Born in Ixelles, Renkin studied and practised ...

(Catholic), Minister of the Colonies *Baron Eugène Beyens (technocrat), member of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

after 30 July 1916; Minister of Foreign Affairs between 18 January 1916 to 4 August 1917 *

Paul Hymans Paul Louis Adrien Henri Hymans (23 March 1865 – 8 March 1941), was a Belgian politician associated with the Liberal Party. He was the second president of the League of Nations and served again as its president in 1932–1933. Life Hymans was ...

(

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 ...

), member of the Council of Ministers after 18 January 1916; Minister of Economic Affairs from 12 November 1917 to 1 January 1918; Minister of Foreign Affairs after 1 January 1918. *Count

Eugène Goblet d'Alviella Eugène Félicien Albert, Count Goblet d'Alviella (10 August 1846 – 9 September 1925) was a lawyer, liberal senator of Belgium and a ''Professor of the history of religions'' and rector of the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). He was the fa ...

(Liberal), member of the Council of Ministers after 18 January 1916 *

Emile 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 ...

(

Socialist 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 ...

), member of the Council of Ministers after 18 January 1916; Minister of Supplies after 4 August 1917 *

Emile Brunet Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

(Socialist), member of the Council of Ministers after 1 January 1918.

Criticism

The ''

Flamingant The term ''flamingant'', in both Dutch and French, refers to an adherent of the Flemish Movement. Originating as a pejorative term use by Belgian nationalists, it may be equally used as an adjective or substantive and the term ''flamingantisme'' ...

'' poet René de Clercq published a poem called ''Aan Die Van Havere'' ("To those of Le Havre") in 1916, in which he accused the government (the "Lords of Le Havre") of having forgotten the plight of Flanders.

Exile in Le Havre

Composition

Criticism

References

Further reading

See also