Communist Party of Belgium

The Communist Party of Belgium (Dutch: Kommunistische Partij van België, or KPB; French: Parti Communiste de Belgique, PCB) was a political party in Belgium from 1921 to 1989. The youth wing of KPB/PCB was known as the Communist Youth of Belgium. The party published a newspaper known as Le Drapeau Rouge in French and De Roode Vaan in Dutch.

History

The Communist Party of Belgium was formed at a congress in

On 18 August 1950 the party chairman, Julien Lahaut, was assassinated.

In the mid 1960s the

KPB/PCB lost its parliamentary presence in 1985.[3]

In 1989 KPB/PCB was divided into two separate parties,

Several foreign communist parties, American, British, German, French and Dutch, had branches in Belgium.[4]

Chairmen of KPB/PCB

• Julien Lahaut 1945–1950
• Ernest Burnelle 1954–1968
• Marc Drumaux 1968–1972
• Louis Van Geyt 1972–1989

General Secretaries of KPB/PCB

• Joseph Jacquemotte^[5]
• Edgard Lalmand 1943–1954

Notable members

• Bert Van Hoorick
• Edward Gierek
• Andrée Grandjean
• René Magritte
• Charles Plisnier
• Paul Nougé

Communist burgomasters (mayors)

• Liège province) from April 1971 to December 1976 (in 1977 this commune was absorbed into Visé
  ), deputy from 1968 to 1981
• Hainaut province) from 1965 to 1971 (in 1972 this commune was absorbed into Mons
  ), senator from 1949 to 1950, then again from 1954 to 1974
• Marcel Mereau, mayor of
  Hainaut province
  )
• Elie Hoyas, mayor of
  Hainaut province
  ) from 1976 to 1982
• Hainaut province
  ) from 1982 to 1985, deputy from 1968 to 1974
• Hainaut province
  ) from 1947 to 1950, senator from 1946 to 1954
• René Mathy, last mayor of
  Liège province
  )
• Paul Carette, mayor of
  Hainaut province
  )

Election results

Election year	Votes		Seats	Change
	Number	Percentage
1925	34,149	1.64%	2 / 187
1929	43,237	1.94%	1 / 187	1
1932	64,552	2.90%	3 / 187	2
1936	143,223	6.06%	9 / 202	6
1939	90,856	4.65%	9 / 202
1946	300,099	12.69%	23 / 202	14
1949	376,765	7.49%	12 / 212	11
1950	234,541	4.75%	7 / 212	5
1954	184,108	3.57%	4 / 212	3
1958	100,145	1.89%	2 / 212	2
1961	162,238	3.08%	5 / 212	3
1965	247,311	4.77%	6 / 212	1
1965	247,311	4.77%	6 / 212	1
1968	170,625	3.30%	5 / 212	1
1971	91,726 67,487 159,213	1.74% 1.28% 3,02%	4 / 212 1 / 212 5 / 212 [a]
1974	107,481	2.04%	2 / 212 [b]	3
1977	37,104 62,410 99,514	0.67% 1.12% 1,79%	2 / 212 0 / 212 2 / 212 [a]
1978	180,234	3.26%	4 / 212	2
1981	138,978	2.31%	2 / 212	2
1985	71,695	1.18%	0 / 212	2
1987	51,046	0.80%	0 / 212

^a In the 1971 and 1977 General Elections, the Communist Party used separate lists for both Flanders and Wallonia, despite remaining a single party
^b It is unclear whether the Communist Party decided not to run separate lists for the 1974 General Election or the data for regional lists is simply not available^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Communist Struggle (Marxist–Leninist)

Sources

• Geschiedenis van de Belgische KP (in Dutch)
• 1928: Splitsing tussen trotskisten en stalinisten in Belgische KP

References

Further reading

• Scheltiens, Vincent (2017). "Une infime minorité: Radicaal-links in België (1914-1921)". Brood & Rozen. 22 (4).
  doi:10.21825/br.v22i4.15874
  .
• ISBN 978-2804006426
  .
• ISSN 0008-9664
  .
• Liebman, Marcel (1963). "Les origines et la fondation du Parti Communiste de Belgique". Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP (in French). 197 (17): 1–15.
  ISSN 0008-9664
  .