- Henri Baels
Henri Louis Baels (
Ostend ,18 January ,1878 -18 June ,1951 ), was ashipowner fromOstend who subsequently had a brilliant political career in the Catholic Party, inBelgium .Background
He was the son of Julius Ludovicus Baels (
18 August ,1851 -11 November ,1896 ) and wife (m.Ostend ,18 January ,1876 ) Delphina Alexandrina Mauricx (11 June ,1848 -24 September ,1931 ).Career
He eventually became
Minister of Agriculture , thenMinister of the Interior , and, finally,Minister of Public Works and Public Health . He crowned his career by becomingGovernor ofWest Flanders in 1936. A friend ofKing Albert I of the Belgians , and later equally trusted by Albert's son,King Leopold III of the Belgians , Henri Baels was responsible, among other important public initiatives, for the creation of the famousAlbert Canal . Henri Baels was also a great friend of DomMarie-Albert van der Cruyssen , theAbbot of theCistercian Monastery of Orval , Belgium, and took a lead in supporting the restoration of the Monastery, a project the Abbot (who was also a highlydecorated Belgianwar hero ofWorld War I ) had undertaken.Family
The ancestors of Henri Baels' wife, Anne Marie de Visscher (
7 April ,1882 -6 July ,1950 ), daughter of Adolphus Gustavus de Visscher (3 February ,1854 -3 November ,1920 ) and wife Alicia Victoria Carolina Opsomer, included illustrious personages such as the Count Felix de Muelenaere, member of the Belgian National Congress ( which founded the Kingdom of Belgium in 1831), and three-time Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1831 and 1841.The couple had nine children:
Lilian, Princess of Réthy , Elza Baels, Susanne Baels, Ludwina Baels, Walter Baels, Hermann Baels, who married, Henry Baels and Lydia Baels, who married Jean-Jacques Cartier and had two children, Viviane Mary Cartier (b.Dorking ,22 December ,1946 ) and N N Cartier (b.Dorking ,26 April ,1948 ).
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