- Hubert Pierlot
Hubert Marie Eugène, Count Pierlot (23 December 1883, Cugnon (Bertrix) - 13 December 1963,
Uccle ) was a Belgian Walloon politician andjurist , the Prime Minister of Belgium between 1939 and 1945 (a mandate coinciding withWorld War II andNazi Germany 's occupation of the country).He was a representative of the Catholic Party (which took various names during his lifetime) in the Chamber of Deputies in 1925 (for Neufchâteau), then to the Senate for Luxembourg Province (between 1926 and 1936) and
Arlon (from 1936 to 1946). He also served as Minister of Internal Affairs (1934-1935), Minister of Agriculture (1934-1935; 1936-1939), and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1939). He first led a coalition of Catholics and Socialists, and then one of Catholics and Liberals.When the
Phony War broke, Pierlot became the leader of anational government (or rather a tripartite one), which stayed in power until theGerman invasion in 1940. A few hours after Belgium capitulated on 27 May, he andPaul-Henri Spaak met with the leaders ofFrance -Paul Reynaud ,Maxime Weygand , andPhilippe Pétain . The meeting was conflictual, as both Belgian leaders attempted to explain their country's position in front of French hostility.Pierlot later left for
London , where he led thegovernment in exile for the rest of the conflict. He gave full backing to theFree French Forces , recognizingCharles de Gaulle as the true leader of France in 1941. His government also directed the formation of theFree Belgian Forces , a force that grew to over 100,000 men under arms byVE Day . Upon his return to Belgium, he led another large coalition, which also included members of theCommunist Party of Belgium . Later in 1945, Pierlot was appointedMinister of State .Quote
* "Serious to the point of severity, honest to the point of
scrupulosity , a never-tired worker, a devout Christian, a patriot, a model of civic, professional, and family virtues, he was an exceptional man." (Spaak on Pierlot; P.-H. Spaak, "Combats inachevés",Fayard 1969, vol. I, p. 59)
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