Charles Rogier | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Belgium | |
| In office 12 August 1847 – 31 October 1852 | |
| Monarch | Leopold I |
| Preceded by | Barthélémy de Theux de Meylandt |
| Succeeded by | Henri de Brouckère |
| In office 9 November 1857 – 3 January 1868 | |
| Monarchs | Leopold I Leopold II |
| Preceded by | Pierre de Decker |
| Succeeded by | Walthère Frère-Orban |
| President of the Chamber of Representatives | |
| In office 1 August 1878 – 13 November 1878 | |
| Preceded by | Xavier Victor Thibaut |
| Succeeded by | Jules Guillery |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1800-08-17)17 August 1800 |
| Died | 27 May 1885(1885-05-27) (aged 84) Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Belgium |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Alma mater | University of Liège |
Charles Latour Rogier (French pronunciation:[ʃaʁllatuʁʁɔʒje]; 17 August 1800 – 27 May 1885) was aBelgianliberal statesman and a leader in theBelgian Revolution of 1830. He served as theprime minister of Belgium on two occasions: from 1847 to 1852, and again from 1857 to 1868.
Rogier was descended from a family settled in the department of the Nord in France, and was born inSaint-Quentin. His father, an officer in theFrench army, perished in theRussian Campaign of 1812. The family then moved to the Belgian city ofLiège, where the eldest son, Firmin, held a professorship. Rogier studied law at theUniversity of Liège and was admitted to theBar. However, he devoted himself with greater zeal to journalistic campaigns against theDutch rule in Belgium, which had been established by theCongress of Vienna in 1815. In 1824, in collaboration with his lifelong friendsPaul Devaux andJoseph Lebeau, he founded the journalMathieu Laensberg (afterwardsLe Politique). With its ardent patriotism and its attacks on the Dutch administration, the journal soon achieved widespread influence.[1]
On the outbreak of the insurrection atBrussels in August 1830, Rogier went there with a militia of about 300 citizens from Liège. In Brussels, he gained recognition as one of the most active among the patriot leaders, and his influence saved the town hall from pillage on 19 September. Five days later acommission administrative was formed, of which Rogier became president. The measures of this body and of its successor, thegouvernement provisoire, soon freed the greater part of the country from the Dutch troops. In October Rogier was also sent to suppress an outbreak among thecolliers ofHainaut Province.[2]
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Rogier became a member of theprovisional government established in October of the same year. He succeeded in arranging anarmistice, and then reorganized the entire administration ofAntwerp. He represented Liège in theBelgian National Congress, voted for the establishment of ahereditary monarchy, and induced the congress to adopt the principle of an elective second chamber. In the long-drawn debates on the bestowal of the crown he ranged himself on the side ofLouis Philippe: he first supported the candidature of princeOtto of Bavaria, and on his rejection declared for Louis Philippe's sonduc de Nemours, whose candidacy was declined by Louis.[3]
After the eventual election ofLeopold I as King in June 1831, Rogier was made Governor ofAntwerp, a post rendered difficult by the continued presence of Dutch troops in the citadel. In October 1832 he was made minister of the interior in theGoblet cabinet. In June 1833 he intervened in a quarrel in the chamber of deputies between Paul Devaux, then a minister, and the opposition leader,Alexandre Gendebien, and fought a duel in which he was severely wounded. During his term of office, he carried, in the teeth of violent opposition, a law that established in Belgium the first railways on the continent of Europe, and thus laid the foundation of her industrial development. Owing to dissension in the cabinet, he retired in 1834, together with Lebeau, and resumed the governorship of Antwerp.[3]
When Lebeau returned to power in 1840, Rogier became Minister of Public Works and Education. His educational reform proposals were defeated, and when the ministry resigned in 1841 he supported a compromise that passed into law the next year. He then led the Liberal party in Opposition until 1847, when he formed a cabinet in which he was Minister of the Interior. He at once embarked on a programme of political and economic reform, and took effective steps to remedy the industrial distress caused by the decay of theFlemishlinen trade. The limits of the franchise were extended, and as the result of the liberal policy of the government Belgium alone escaped therevolutionary wave that spread over the Continent in 1848. He passed a law in 1850 organizing secondary education under the control of the State, and giving the clergy only the right of religious instruction. The opposition Clerical party, though unable to defeat this measure, succeeded in shaking the position of the cabinet; and it was finally undermined, after Louis Napoleon'scoup d'état of 1851, by the hostility of the French government, whose political exiles had been welcomed by the liberal cabinet at Brussels.[3]
Rogier retired in October 1852, but was brought back into office by theliberal reaction of 1857. He again became president of the council and minister of the interior in a cabinet of whichWalthère Frère-Orban was the most conspicuous member. The first important measure passed by the ministry was one for the fortification of Antwerp. In 1860 the fear of French designs on the independence of Belgium led to a movement of reconciliation with the Netherlands, and in the same year, Belgium adoptedLa Brabançonne as its national anthem,[3] with words adapted by Rogier from an existing poem.
From 1861, Rogier served as Minister for Foreign Affairs. In this capacity he achieved a diplomatic triumph in freeing the navigation of the riverScheldt, thus enabling Antwerp to become the second port on the mainland of Europe. Electorally defeated at Dinant, he representedTournai from 1863, a post he held until his death.[citation needed]
By now his younger colleague, Frère-Orban, gradually overshadowed his chief, and in 1868 Rogier finally retired from power. He continued, however, to take part in public life, and was elected president of the extraordinary session of the chamber of representatives in 1878, but was replaced byJules Guillery later the same year. The fiftieth anniversary of the kingdom of Belgium in 1880, and two years later that of his entry into parliament, were the occasion of demonstrations in his honour. He died in Brussels on 27 May 1885, and his remains were accorded a public funeral.[3]
Today, one of Brussels' central squares, theCharles Rogier Square, is named in his honour, as is the nearbyRogier metro station.
A 1897 statue of Rogier byGuillaume de Groot stands at the center of theFreedom Square [fr], another prominent space in central Brussels.
Belgium:
Austrian Empire: Grand Cross in theAustrian Imperial Order of Leopold[5]
France: Knight Grand Cross in theLegion of Honour.[4][5]
Kingdom of Italy: Knight Grand Cross in theOrder of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.[4]
Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross in theOrder of the Netherlands Lion.[4][5]
Kingdom of Portugal: Grand Cross in theOrder of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa.[5]
Russian Empire: Knight Grand Cross in the ImperialOrder of the White Eagle.[4][5]
Spain: Knight Grand Cross in theOrder of Charles III.[4][5]
Sweden: Grand Cross in theOrder of the Polar Star.[6]
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: Grand Cross in theSaxe-Ernestine House Order.[5]
Kingdom of Prussia: Grand Cross in theOrder of the Red Eagle.[5]
_Standbeeld_Charles_Rogier_(1905)_Luik_23-08-2018.jpg)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rogier, Charles Latour".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 458–459.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Rogier, Charles Latour".New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
Media related toCharles Rogier at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Prime Minister of Belgium Acting 1830–1831 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor ofAntwerp 1831–1840 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Belgium 1847–1852 | |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Belgium 1857–1868 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Chamber of Representatives 1878 | Succeeded by |
