Colonel Maximilien Charles Ferdinand Strauch (Lomprez, 4 October 1829 – Beez, 7 June 1911) was a Belgian officer who played a role in the colonization of the Congo. He was a trusted advisor of King

Leopold II of Belgium Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of King Leo ...

, who entrusted him with the functions of

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the

Association internationale africaine The International African Association (in full, "International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of Central Africa"; in French ''Association Internationale Africaine,'' and in full ''Association Internationale pour l'Exploration et ...

(1878), secretary of the Comité d'études du Haut-Congo (1878) and chairman of the

Association internationale du Congo The International Association of the Congo (), also known as the International Congo Society, was an association founded on 17 November 1879 by Leopold II of Belgium to further his interests in the Congo. It replaced the Belgian Committee for St ...

(23 February 1885 – 1 July 1885).

Publications

*"Au sujet du voyage des éléphants", in: ''Bulletin de la Société Royale de Géographie'', 1879–1880, p. 216 *"Au sujet du choix de Karéma", in: ''Bulletin de la Société Royale de Géographie'', 1879–1880, p. 39

Literature

*, STRAUCH (Maximilien-Charles-Ferdinand), in: '' Biographie Coloniale Belge'', deel III, 1952, kol. 831–833 *, ''Le colonel Strauch, président de l'Association internationale du Congo'', M. Weissenbruch, 1911 Belgian colonisation in Africa Congo Free State people 1829 births 1911 deaths {{Belgium-bio-stub