Robert-Marie-Léon, 7th Duke d'Ursel (1873–1955) was a Belgian politician.État présent de la noblesse belge, Annuaire 2013, Bruxelles, 2013 p.5

Family

He was the son of Marie Joseph Charles, 6th Duke d'Ursel. He married in 1898 to Sabine Franquet de Franqueville. After his death he was succeeded by his son Henri, 8th Duke d'Ursel.

Career

He was selected to be commissioner of the World exhibition of 1910. During the 1st WW he served as volunteer, and fought in the Yser. He was however sent away from the battle field and became officer in the connection services. The duke was part of the Royal cortege during the victorious entry of the Sovereigns in Brussels. After the war he participated in the Senate in the debates of the reconstruction of the devastated country. The duke was rewarded multiple international honours for his merit. He had his

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

pâinted by de Laszlo after the War in 1920 in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, they did meet before in an art gallery. Robert d'Ursel was very impressed by the talent of the artist, and de Laszlo gifted the duke a painted sketch of him as sign of respect and friendship. In 1926 he requested to paint a portrait of the dowager duchess d'Ursel, his mother. The portrait was put on display in the Charpentier Gallery in Paris. Both families had close contact, which resulted in 3 generations of portrait paintings of the House of Ursel. Later he became Lord mayor of Higene, member of the Senate and Special mission of the King, he was sent to the Russian and Danish court. He was active in social circles and was president of the royal Belgian Automobile Club. He was President of the

Centre for Fine Arts The Centre for Fine Arts (, ; , ) is a multi-purpose cultural venue in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of ''Beaux-arts'') in French or by its initials PSK in Dutch. This multidisciplinary s ...

in Brussels.

Honours

* Belgium ** War Cross. ** Grand Cross in the Order of the Crown. ** Grand Officer in the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

. * Grand Cross in the

Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian language, Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extend ...

. * Grand Cordon in the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

. * Benin: Grand Cross in the

Order of the Black Star The Order of the Black Star (''Ordre de l'Étoile Noire'') was an order of knighthood established on 1 December 1889 at Porto-Novo by Toffa, future king of Dahomey (today the Republic of Benin). Approved and recognised by the French government o ...

. * Grand Cross in the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

* Denmark: Grand Cross in the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

* Monaco: Grand Cross in the

Order of Saint-Charles The Order of Saint Charles (; Monégasque: ''U̍rdine de San Carlu'') is a dynastic order of knighthood established in Monaco on 15 March 1858. Award This order rewards service to the State or Prince. In particular cases, it may be grante ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dursel, Robert, 7th Duke 1873 births 1955 deaths Robert, 07 Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)

Urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or Urus (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc. ...

Mayors of places in Belgium