Charles de Broqueville

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

Charles Marie Pierre Albert, Count de Broqueville (December 4, 1860–September 5, 1940 in Brussels) was the Prime Minister of Belgium 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 October 22, 1932 until November 20, 1934.

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

v • d • e Prime Ministers of Belgium

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