National Congress of Belgium
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The National Congress (French: Congrès national, Dutch: Nationaal Congres) was a temporary legislative assembly in Belgium, convened in 1830 in the aftermath of the Belgian Revolution. Its purpose was to devise a national constitution for the new state, whose independence had been proclaimed on 4 October 1830 by the self-declared Provisional Government.
History
The National Congress was elected by approximately 30,000 voters on 3 November 1830 and consisted of 200 members. Its president was Baron Erasme Louis Surlet de Chokier.
The assembly chose a
The Constitution of 1831, which was very progressive for its time, was accepted on 7 February 1831. The Provisional Government was subsequently dismantled. The National Congress itself remained in place until the official elections of a first Parliament on 29 August 1831. A monument in Brussels, the Congress Column, was erected in its honour. On the base of the Congress Column, there are four allegorical bronze female sculptures that represent the four constitutional liberties enshrined in the Constitution of 1831: Freedom of the Press, Worship, Association and Education. These four constitutional liberties are also reflected in the streets of Brussels, especially in the Freedom Quarter. There are four streets that lead to the Place de la Liberté/Vrijheidsplein ("Liberty Square"): the Rue des Cultes/Eredienststraat ("Worship Street"), the Rue de l'Association/Verenigingsstraat ("Association Street"), the Rue de l'Enseignement/Onderrichtstraat ("Education Street") and the Rue de la Presse/Drukpersstraat ("Press Street").
Membership
See also
- Constituent Assembly of Luxembourg, a similar constituent assembly in Luxembourg in 1848
References
- ^ "Congrès national de Belgique. Séance du 3 février 1831". Unionisme.be. Retrieved 2014-08-22.