Félix Fuchs
Félix Fuchs | |
---|---|
Governor-General of the Belgian Congo | |
In office 20 May 1912 – 23 December 1915 | |
Monarch | Albert I |
Preceded by | Théophile Wahis |
Succeeded by | Eugène Henry |
Personal details | |
Born | Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium | 25 January 1858
Died | 23 February 1928 Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium | (aged 70)
Félix Alexandre Fuchs (1858–1928) was a
between 1912 and 1915.A lawyer by profession, Fuchs joined the administration of the Congo Free State in 1888 as a jurist and quickly rose through the ranks. Considered a Liberal, Fuchs's civilian background and attitudes distinguished him from the majority of colonial administrators who had begun their careers in the military. Rising to the highest ranks of the administration in the late 1890s, Fuchs eventually became Governor-General after the Congo's annexation by Belgium and presided over the Congo's entry into World War I.
Career
Fuchs was born into a family of Prussian origin in Ixelles, Brussels in Belgium on 25 January 1858.[1] He was naturalised as a Belgian citizen in 1862 and, in 1876, went to study Law at the Free University of Brussels.[2] He later practiced as a lawyer at the court of appeal in Brussels.[1]
In 1887, Fuchs began working for the
In 1908, in the face of international pressure, Belgium officially annexed the Congo Free State, creating the Belgian Congo. Fuchs, however, retained his position in the administration.[1] When Théophile Wahis, the incumbent Governor-General and Fuch's rival, resigned in May 1912, Fuchs was designated to replace him as the senior civil servant in the colony.[1]
During Fuchs's tenure as Governor-General,
References
Bibliography
- Guinand, Michel (1994). Félix Fuchs (1858-1928). Gouverneur Général du Congo belge (PDF) (Mémoire de licence). Bruxelles: Université libre de Bruxelles.
- Plasman, Pierre-Luc (2012). "FUCHS, Félix". Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- Tousignant, Nathalie (2014). "The Congo during the First World War". Cahiers Bruxellois – Brusselse Cahiers. 46 (1).
External links
- Inventory of the Fuchs archive at the Royal Museum for Central Africa
- Félix Alexandre Fuchs
- Archive Félix Fuchs, Royal museum for central Africa