Paul van Zeeland

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Paul Van Zeeland
)
In this article, the surname is van Zeeland, not Zeeland.

Paul van Zeeland
Paul-Emile Janson
Personal details
Born
Paul Guillaume van Zeeland

(1893-11-11)11 November 1893
Soignies, Belgium
Died22 September 1973(1973-09-22) (aged 79)
City of Brussels, Belgium
Political partyCatholic Party

Paul Guillaume, Viscount van Zeeland (11 November 1893 – 22 September 1973) was a Belgian lawyer, economist, Catholic politician and statesman.

Biography

van Zeeland was born in Soignies. He was a professor of law and later director of the Institute of Economic Science at the Catholic University of Leuven (Leuven), and vice-governor of the National Bank of Belgium.

In March 1935, he became the

Prime Minister of a government of national unity (a coalition comprising the three major parties: Catholics, Liberals and Socialists
). Given decree powers, he abated a national economic crisis by devaluing the currency and implementing expansive budgetary policies.

van Zeeland's government resigned in the spring of 1936 due to the agitation of

Rexism, a Belgian fascist movement. On 24 May 1936, general elections were held. The Labour party won 70 of 202 seats (minus 3), Zeeland's Catholic Party
61 seats (minus 18) and the new Rexists 21 seats. Van Zeeland continued as Prime Minister leading a government of national unity, composed of the three major parties (Catholics, Socialists and Liberals).

On 2 June 1936, a

paid holidays
, and a maximum 40-hour working week for workers in particular industrial occupations. The strike formally ended on 2 July 1936.

After proclaiming martial law, his second government suppressed the Rexists. It introduced measures against unemployment, which helped ease the political tensions. Also during his second term, Belgium gave up its military alliance with France and reverted to its traditional policy of neutrality, now dubbed a "policy of independence".

In spring 1937, Rexist leader

Paul-Emile Janson
as his successor.

In 1939, van Zeeland became president of the Committee on Refugees, established in London, and was made High Commissioner for repatriating displaced Belgians in 1944. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1942.[2] In 1946, he was one of the founders of the European League for Economic Cooperation.

After the war, van Zeeland served as

Banque Belge d'Afrique
.

In 2013, to the consternation of his family, it was discovered that he had founded a Panamanian offshore company in 1946.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ For details, see Van Zeeland contre Degrelle
  2. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  3. Bilderberg Group. Archived from the original
    on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Offshore Leaks: Kleindochter oud-premier Van Zeeland zet stap opzij op kabinet-Milquet". De Morgen (Belgium), 13 April 2013
  5. ^ Van Malderen, Sven (13 April 2013). ""Belgische ex-premier had vennootschap in Panama"". Het Laatste Nieuws. Retrieved 2 September 2023.

Further reading

  • Dujardin, Vincent; Dumoulin, Michel (1997). Paul van Zeeland, 1893-1973. Brussels: Éditions Racine.
    ISBN 2873861142
    .

External links
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Belgium
1935–1937 		Succeeded by
Paul-Emile Janson
Diplomatic posts
New office President of the European League for Economic Cooperation
1946–1949 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_van_Zeeland&oldid=1199999584"