Monarch Albert ILeopold III Succeeded by Gerard Cooreman | Name Charles Broqueville | |
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Charles Marie Pierre Albert, Count de Broqueville (4 December 1860 – 5 September 1940) was the 20th Prime Minister of Belgium, serving during World War I.
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Before 1914
First elected to the Chamber of Representatives in 1892, 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:
After the War
Later, Charles de Broqueville became Prime Minister a second time, serving from 22 October 1932 until 20 November 1934.