Liberal Party (Belgium)

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The Liberal Party was a Belgian political party that existed from 1846 until 1961, when it became the Party for Freedom and Progress, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès or PVV-PLP, under the leadership of Omer Vanaudenhove.

History

The Liberal Party was founded in 1846 and as such was the first political party of Belgium. Walthère Frère-Orban wrote the first charter for the new party. From 1887 until 1900, The Progressive Party (French: Parti Progressiste, Dutch: Progressieve Partij) existed as a separate progressive Liberal party.

Presidents

• 1920 - 1921 : Albert Mechelynck
• 1924 - 1926 : Edouard Pécher
• 1927 - 1933 : Albert Devèze
• 1933 - 1934 : Octave Dierckx
• 1935 - 1936 : Léon Dens
• 1936 - 1937 : Victor de Laveleye
• 1937 - 1940 : Emile Coulonvaux
• 1940 - 1945 : Jane Brigode and Fernand Demets (co-presidency)
• 1945 - 1953 : Roger Motz
• 1953 - 1954 : Henri Liebaert
• 1954 - 1958 : Maurice Destenay
• 1958 - 1961 : Roger Motz
• 1961 : Omer Vanaudenhove

Notable members

• Jules Bara
• Charles Buls, mayor of Brussels (1881-1899)
• Eugène Defacqz
• François-Philippe de Haussy, (1789-1869), first governor of the National Bank of Belgium
• Constant de Kerchove de Denterghem
• Walthère Frère-Orban
• Charles Graux
• Paul Hymans, first President of the League of Nations
• Paul Janson
• Paul-Émile Janson
• Joseph Lebeau
• Albert Lilar
• Adolphe Max, mayor of Brussels (1909-1939)
• Eudore Pirmez
• Eugène Prévinaire, (1805-1877), second governor of the National Bank of Belgium.
• Charles Rogier
• Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns
• Ernest Solvay (1838-1922), chemist, industrialist and philanthropist.
• Pierre Van Humbeeck
• Jan Van Rijswijck
• Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen, founder of the Université Libre de Bruxelles
• Raoul Warocqué

See also

• Politics of Belgium
• Liberal Archive
• Liberalism in Belgium
• Progressive Party

Source

• Liberal Archive
• Th. Luykx, M. Platel, Politieke geschiedenis van België, 2 vol., Kluwer, 1985
• E. Witte, J. Craeybeckx, A. Meynen, Politieke geschiedenis van België, Standaard, 1997

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Last updated on Thursday January 17, 2008 at 13:49:06 PST (GMT -0800)
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