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Louis de Brouckère (31 May 1870 – 4 June 1951) was a Belgian
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
journalist, politician and academic. He was a member of the
Belgian Labour Party The Belgian Labour Party (, , BWP; , , POB) was the first major Socialism, socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party achieved its first electoral breakthrough in the aftermath of World War I. It was officially disbanded after the Ger ...
from the 1890s.


Biography

Born in the family of a liberal-minded industrialist, in high school he became involved in the workers' movement. Initially a Proudhonian activist, he later embraced
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
. He was a member of the
Belgian Labour Party The Belgian Labour Party (, , BWP; , , POB) was the first major Socialism, socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party achieved its first electoral breakthrough in the aftermath of World War I. It was officially disbanded after the Ger ...
(BWP) from its founding in which he did actively collaborate in social democratic newspapers: his first articles in the socialist newspaper ''Le Peuple'' (The People) were published in 1891, and in 1906 he became her editor. In March 1896, he was imprisoned for six months for anti-militarist propaganda. He was elected to the local council in Brussels in 1898, and then to the provincial council in Brabant a year later. In 1894 he was a founding member of the
New University of Brussels The New University of Brussels () was a private university active in Brussels, Belgium, between 1894 and 1919. Its origins were in the Free University of Brussels (1834–1969), Free University of Brussels, a Liberalism in Belgium, liberal instit ...
. On the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence, de Brouckère and his comrades decided to boycott the celebrations, denouncing the domination of the bourgeois class at the expense of the proletariat. In 1911, he published an article in the
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...
magazine ''
Die Neue Zeit ''Die Neue Zeit'' ("The New Times") was a German socialist theoretical journal of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) that was published from 1883 to 1923. Its headquarters was in Stuttgart, Germany. History and profile Founded by lead ...
'', in which he criticized his party's leadership for opportunism. De Brouckère attended the Stuttgart Congress of the
Second International The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...
. Here he moved a resolution in which he argued that there should be parity of status between party and unions. He said they should share a commitment to the socialist education of the working class. However
Karl Kautsky Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian Marxism, Marxist theorist. A leading theorist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Second International, Kautsky advocated orthodox Marxism, a ...
brokered a compromise resolution in which the parties and the unions "had an equally important task to perform in the struggle for proletarian emancipation," with the domain of each logically separated and independent of the other. A staunch opponent of militarism, Brouckère abandoned his former views at the outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, voluntarily entering the army as a social patriot. As a colleague and close friend of his fellow party member
Emile Vandervelde Emile Vandervelde (25 January 1866 – 27 December 1938) was a Belgium, Belgian socialist politician. Nicknamed "the boss" (''le patron''), Vandervelde was a leading figure in the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP) and in international socialism. C ...
, he became the head of his office in 1917. On behalf of the General Council, the BWP made a trip to the countries of the Entente, agitating for the continuation of the war. He and other Social Democrats visited Russia after the
February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...
(1917), urging
Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early November 1917 ( N.S.). After th ...
's
Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
not to withdraw from the war. In 1919 he became an adviser to the government, and four years later he was appointed a senator. Formerly a member of the International Socialist Bureau of the Second International, he held leadership positions in the
Labour and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI) was an international organization of socialist and labourist parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a merger of the rival Vienna International and the Berne Intern ...
and the BWP between the two world wars. He took part in the work of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
and its Preparatory Commission for Disarmament as an official representative of Belgium. Since 1920, he demanded that Germany be allowed to join the League, as well as to reduce the reparations imposed on it. With the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he signed the Liege Manifesto in 1939, which rejected the policy of Belgian neutrality and instead called for cooperation with France against Nazi Germany. After the invasion of Germany he was in exile, going through Paris to London. From 1939 to 1944 he was one of the employees of the Belgian government-in-exile in London under the Catholic Prime Minister
Hubert Pierlot Hubert Marie Eugène Pierlot (, 23 December 1883 – 13 December 1963) was a Belgian politician and Prime Minister of Belgium, serving between 1939 and 1945. Pierlot, a lawyer and jurist, served in World War I before entering politics in the 192 ...
and Socialist Foreign Minister
Paul-Henri Spaak Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman who thrice served as the prime minister of Belgium and later as the second secretary general of NATO. Nicknam ...
. After the liberation of Belgium from the Nazi occupation, he actively participated in the restoration of the BWP, dissolved in 1940, under the new name of the Belgian Socialist Party. Together with
Paul van Zeeland Paul Guillaume, Viscount van Zeeland (11 November 1893 – 22 September 1973) was a Belgian lawyer, economist, Catholic politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 1935 to 1937. Biography van Zeeland was born in Soi ...
, he developed the concept of a Western European economic and monetary union, made a significant contribution to the creation of the Benelux Customs Union on 5 September 1944, which entered into force on 1 January 1948. He was also instrumental in negotiating the Benelux Treaty of 3 February 1958, under which the Benelux Economic Union was founded. In the international arena, he advocated the creation of the
Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour mov ...
. He was a member of the
Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law () is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taught in English and French and, except for External ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brouckere, Louis de 1870 births 1951 deaths 20th-century Belgian politicians 19th-century Belgian journalists 20th-century Belgian journalists People from Roeselare