Minister of the Colonies (Belgium)

Belgium had a colonial empire in Central Africa from 1908 to 1962, comprising the colony of the Belgian Congo (1908–60) and the international mandate of Ruanda-Urundi (1916–62). The territories were the responsibility of a Belgian parliamentarian who received the title Minister of the Colonies (French: Ministre des Colonies, Dutch: Minister van Koloniën) for most of the colonial period. The exact title was changed on several occasions.

On the left hand side, one of the former buildings of the Ministry of the Colonies, adjacent to the Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg/Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg church, and which is now the Constitutional Court on the Place Royale, Brussels[1]

Ministerial title

For most of the existence of the post, office holders were known as "Minister of the Colonies" (Ministre des Colonies or Minister van Koloniën). From the accession of Maurits Van Hemelrijck in November 1958, however, the ministerial title changed to "Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi" (Ministre du Congo belge et du Ruanda-Urundi or Minister van Belgisch-Congo en Ruanda-Urundi).[2] On 30 June 1960, with the independence of the Belgian Congo, the title changed to "Minister of African Affairs" (Ministre des affaires africaines or Minister van afrikaanse zaken) whose only office holders were August de Schryver and Harold Charles d'Aspremont Lynden.[3]

In addition to official colonial ministers, two individuals served as ministers without portfolio with a colonial brief between 1959 and 1960. Raymond Scheyven was "Minister without portfolio, charged with the economic and financial affairs of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi"[lower-alpha 1] while Walter Ganshof van der Meersch was "Minister without portfolio, charged with general affairs in Africa".[lower-alpha 2][2]

List of ministers

The following is a list of ministers, cited by historian Guy Vanthemsche in his book Belgium and the Congo, 1885-1980:[3]

Political parties
Christian Democrat

  Catholic Party, later:
  Christian Social Party

Liberal

  Liberal Party

Socialist

  Belgian Socialist Party

Portrait Name Term of Office Political Party Prime Minister Monarch
(Reign)
Took Office Left Office Days
Jules Renkin 30 October 1908 21 November 1918 3674 Catholic Party Frans Schollaert
Charles de Broqueville
Gérard Cooreman		 Albert I

(1909–34)
Louis Franck 21 November 1918 11 March 1924 1937 Liberal Party Léon Delacroix
Henri Carton de Wiart
Georges Theunis
Henri Carton de Tournai 11 March 1924 20 May 1926 800 Catholic Party Georges Theunis
Aloys Van de Vyvere
Prosper Poullet
Maurice Houtart (I) 20 May 1926 15 November 1926 179 Catholic Party Henri Jaspar
Édouard Pecher[lower-alpha 3] 16 November 1926 27 December 1926 41 Liberal Party Henri Jaspar
Maurice Houtart (II) 29 December 1926 18 January 1927 20 Catholic Party Henri Jaspar
Henri Jaspar (I) 18 January 1927 19 October 1929 1005 Catholic Party Own government
Paul Tschoffen 19 October 1929 24 December 1929 66 Catholic Party Henri Jaspar
Henri Jaspar (II) 27 February 1930 18 June 1931 476 Catholic Party Own government
Paul Charles 18 May 1931 16 August 1931 90 Extra-Parliamentary
(Catholic)		 Henri Jaspar
Jules Renkin
Paul Crokaert 6 June 1931 25 May 1932 354 Catholic Party Jules Renkin
Paul Tschoffen (II) 23 May 1932 13 November 1934 904 Catholic Party Jules Renkin
Charles de Broqueville
Paul Charles (II) 20 November 1934 25 March 1935 125 Extra-Parliamentary
(Catholic)		 Georges Theunis
Edmond Rubbens [lower-alpha 3] 25 March 1935 27 April 1938 1129 Catholic Party Paul van Zeeland
Paul-Émile Janson		 Leopold III

(1934–44)
Albert De Vleeschauwer (I) 15 May 1938 22 February 1939 283 Catholic Party Paul-Henri Spaak
Gaston Heenen 21 February 1939 16 April 1939 54 Extra-Parliamentary
(Catholic)		 Hubert Pierlot
Albert De Vleeschauwer (II) 16 April 1939 31 January 1945 2117 Catholic Party Hubert Pierlot
Edgard De Bruyne 12 February 1945 16 June 1945 124 Catholic Party Achille Van Acker Prince Charles

Regent
(1944–50)
Robert Godding (I) 2 August 1945 18 February 1946 200 Liberal Party Achille Van Acker
Lode Craeybeckx 13 March 1946 20 March 1946 7 Belgian Socialist Party Paul-Henri Spaak
Robert Godding (II) 31 March 1946 11 March 1947 345 Liberal Party Achille Van Acker
Camille Huysmans
Pierre Wigny 20 March 1947 12 August 1950 1241 Christian Social Party Paul-Henri Spaak
Gaston Eyskens
Jean Duvieusart
André Dequae 15 August 1950 12 April 1954 1336 Christian Social Party Gaston Eyskens
Jean Duvieusart
Joseph Pholien
Jean Van Houtte		 Baudouin

(1950–93)
Auguste Buisseret 23 April 1954 2 June 1958 1501 Liberal Party Achille Van Acker
Gaston Eyskens
Léo Pétillon[lower-alpha 4] 5 July 1958 6 November 1958 124 Extra-Parliamentary
(Catholic)		 Gaston Eyskens
Maurice Van Hemelrijck 6 November 1958 2 September 1959 300 Christian Social Party Gaston Eyskens
August De Schryver 3 September 1959 2 September 1960 365 Christian Social Party Gaston Eyskens
Raymond Scheyven[lower-alpha 1] 17 November 1959 2 September 1960 290 Christian Social Party Gaston Eyskens
Walter Ganshof van der Meersch[lower-alpha 2] 16 May 1960 20 July 1960 65 Extra-Parliamentary Gaston Eyskens
Harold d'Aspremont Lynden 2 September 1960 27 March 1961 206 Christian Social Party Gaston Eyskens

See also

Notes
  1. Scheyven held the unique position of Minister without portfolio, charged with the economic and financial affairs of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi (Ministre sans portefeuille, chargé des Affaires économiques et financières du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi or Minister zonder portefeuille, belast met de economische en financiële zaken van Belgisch-Kongo en Ruanda-Urundi).
  2. Ganshof van der Meersch held the unique ministerial position of "Minister without portfolio, charged with general affairs in Africa (Ministre sans portefeuille, chargé des affaires générales en Afrique or minister zonder portefeuille, belast met de algemene zaken in Afrika).
  3. Both Édouard Pecher and Edmond Rubbens died in office.[4]
  4. A career civil servant in the colonial service, Pétillon had previous served as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo from 1952 to 1958.

References
  1. Vanhove 1968, p. 4.
  2. Vanthemsche 2012, p. 275.
  3. Vanthemsche 2012, pp. 273-5.
  4. Vanthemsche 2012, pp. 273-4.
  5. "As from 2015 the FPS Foreign Affairs transfers the so-called 'Africa Archives' to the State Archives". Arch.be. 11 December 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017.

Bibliography
  • Vanthemsche, Guy (2012). Belgium and the Congo, 1885-1980. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-19421-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Vanhove, Julien (1968). Histoire du Ministère des Colonies (PDF). Brussels: Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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