Charles de Broqueville

Charles, 1st Count de Broqueville
Charles, 1st Count de Broqueville; GC O. Leopold, GCMG
20th Prime Minister of Belgium
	In office; 22 October 1932 – 20 November 1934
Monarch	Albert I; Leopold III
Preceded by	Jules Renkin
Succeeded by	Georges Theunis
	In office; 17 June 1911 – 1 June 1918
Monarch	Albert I
Preceded by	Frans Schollaert
Succeeded by	Gérard Cooreman
Personal details
Born	4 December 1860; Postel, Belgium
Died	5 September 1940 (aged 79); Brussels, Belgium
Political party	Catholic Party

Charles Marie Pierre Albert, 1st Count de Broqueville (4 December 1860 – 5 September 1940) was the 20th Prime Minister of Belgium, serving during World War I.

Memorial to Charles de Broqueville on Avenue de Broqueville, Woluwe-St-Lambert, Brussels

Before 1914

First elected to the Chamber of Representatives in the 1892 election, he represented the arrondissement of Turnhout until June 1919.

He was the leader of Belgium's Catholic Party, and he served as prime minister between 1911 and 1918, heading the de Broqueville government.

Once it became clear that Germany intended to violate Belgian neutrality in August 1914, he oversaw Belgium's mobilization for war. Despite the mobilization, de Broqueville opposed King Albert I's proposal to deploy the Belgian Army along the German frontier in 1914 — instead strategically placing them throughout the country. He recognized that wartime support for Belgium depended upon its continued status as a non-provocative neutral power.

1914–1918

The German invasion of 1914 forced the Belgian government into exile at Le Havre. De Broqueville fought the king on the neutrality issue, hereby denying Belgium a full alliance with the Allied forces.

This opposition of the king critically weakened de Broqueville's stance among members of his cabinet. Consequently, he resigned as Foreign Secretary in January 1918 and as Prime Minister in May when he lost the support of his own party.

De Broqueville also served as minister in various departments:

Minister of Railways and PTT (Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones) 1910-1912
Minister of War 1912-1917
Minister of Foreign Affairs 1917
Minister of Reconstruction 1917-1918
Minister of the Interior 1918-1919
Minister of National Defence 1926-1930

After the War

Later, Charles de Broqueville became Prime Minister a second time, serving from 22 October 1932 until 20 November 1934.

Titles, honours, and arms

Titles:

1867 – 1919: Baron Charles de Broqueville
1919 – 1920: Charles, Baron de Broqueville
After 1920: Charles, Count de Broqueville

Belgian:

Belgium:
- Croix de Guerre
- Minister of State, by Royal Decree.
- Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (1919)[1]

Foreign:

Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog
France:
- Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
- decorated with the Croix de Guerre
Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer
Holy See: Knight with the Collar of the Order of Pius IX.
Japan: 1st class in the Order of the Rising Sun
Kingdom of Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus,
Luxemburg: Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown
Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion,
United Kingdom: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knight of the Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire),
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Romania,
Knight Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of Christ (Portugal)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Zähringer Lion (Grand Duchy of Baden)

Arms:

Coat of arms of the Count de Broqueville
	Coronet A Belgian Count's coronet Escutcheon Azure, a saltire or, in chief, a six-pointed star or Motto Quis me fortior aut fidelior

Notes

Royal Decree of 1919/-Mémorial du centenaire de l'Ordre de Léopold. 1832-1932. Bruxelles, J. Rozez, 1933..

References and further reading

Louis DE LICHTERVELDE, Charles de Broqueville, in: Biographie Nationale de Belgique, t. XXIX, 1956-1957, p. 369-377.
Paul VAN MOLLE, La parlement belge, 1894-1972, Antwerp, 1972
Luc SCHEPENS, Albert Ier et le gouvernement Broqueville, 1914–1918 : aux origines de la question communautaire. Paris 1983,
Thierry DENOËL, Le nouveau dictionnaire des Belges, 2e éd. revue et augm., Brussels, Le Cri, 1992, p. 167.
Maria DE WAELE, Charles de Broqueville, in: Nieuwe Encyclopedie van de Vlaamse Beweging, Tielt, 1998
Paul VOS, Charles de Broqueville op de kering der tijden, in: Vlaamse Stam, 2012, blz. 122-142.
Frans RENAERS, De opvoeding van Charles de Broqueville, in: Vlaamse Stam, blz 142-145.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Frans Schollaert	Prime Minister of Belgium 1911–1918	Succeeded by Gérard Cooreman
Preceded by Jules Renkin	Prime Minister of Belgium 1932–1934	Succeeded by Georges Theunis

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[1] Royal Decree of 1919/-Mémorial du centenaire de l'Ordre de Léopold. 1832-1932. Bruxelles, J. Rozez, 1933..