Charles de Broqueville

Charles de Broqueville
Prime Minister of Belgium
In office 22 October 1932 – 20 November 1934
Monarch	Albert Leopold III
Preceded by	Jules Renkin
Succeeded by	Georges Theunis
In office 17 June 1911 – 1 June 1918
Monarch	Albert
Preceded by	Frans Schollaert
Succeeded by	Gérard Cooreman
Personal details
Born	4 December 1860(1860-12-04) Postel, Belgium
Died	5 September 1940(1940-09-05) (aged 79) Brussels, Belgium
Political party	Catholic Party

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

Charles Marie Pierre Albert, Count de Broqueville (4 December 1860–5 September 1940 in Brussels) was the 20th Prime Minister of Belgium, serving during World War I. He was born in Postel, Belgium. He was the leader of Belgium's Catholic Party, and he served as prime minister between 1911 and 1918. Once it became clear that Germany intended to violate Belgian neutrality in August 1914, he oversaw Belgium's mobilization for war.

Despite this 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.

The German invasion of 1914 forced the Belgian government into exile at Le Havre. De Broqueville fought the king on the neutrality issue — thereby 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

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

External links

• Charles de Broqueville at Prime Minister of Belgium

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

Persondata
Name	De Broqueville, Charles
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	4 December 1860
Place of birth	Postel
Date of death	5 September 1940
Place of death	Brussels