french: Parti Communiste de Belgique , abbreviation = KPB-PCB , colorcode = , leader1_title = Historical leaders , leader1_name = Joseph Jacquemotte

Julien Lahaut Julien Lahaut (6 September 1884 – 18 August 1950) was a Belgian politician and communist activist. He became leader of the Communist Party of Belgium after the First World War. A dissident during the German occupation of 1940–44, he becam ...

Louis Van Geyt Louis Van Geyt (24 September 1927 – 15 April 2016) was a Belgian politician. Van Geyt was the last chairman of the Communist Party of Belgium, from 1972 to 1989. He was also the last MP of the party representing Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde, from ...

, founder =

, founded = , dissolved = , merger =

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

Belgian Communist Party french: Parti Communiste de Belgique , abbreviation = KPB-PCB , colorcode = , leader1_title = Historical leaders , leader1_name = Joseph Jacquemotte Julien Lahaut Louis Van Geyt , founder = Julien Lahaut , founded = , dissolved = , me ...

, successor = Kommunistische Partij
Parti Communiste , headquarters =

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, newspaper = ''De Roode Vaan'' (Flemish)
''Le Drapeau Rouge'' (French) , youth_wing = Communist Youth of Belgium , wing1_title = Paramilitary wing , wing1 = Partisans Armés (1940-43) , membership_year = 1965 , membership = 11,000 (peak) , ideology =

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

Eurocommunism Eurocommunism, also referred to as democratic communism or neocommunism, was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more rel ...

, position =

Far-left Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars conside ...

, international =

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

(1919–1943)

Cominform The Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (), commonly known as Cominform (), was a co-ordination body of Marxist-Leninist communist parties in Europe during the early Cold War that was formed in part as a replacement of the ...

(1947–1956) , european = , europarl =

Communist and Allies Group The Communist and Allies Group was a communist political group with seats in the European Parliament between 1973 and 1989. History The "Communist and Allies Group" was the first communist group in the European Parliament, founded on 16 Octobe ...

(1973–1989) , colours = Red , country = Belgium The Communist Party of Belgium ( nl, Kommunistische Partij van België, or KPB; french: Parti Communiste de Belgique, PCB) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

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

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

on 3–4 September 1921. KPB/PCB was formed through the unification of two groups, the Communist Party led by

War Van Overstraeten Eduard (War) Van Overstraeten (8 May 1891, Wetteren – 9 December 1981, Bruges) was a Flemish communist activist and painter. He was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Belgium. At the end of the First World War, he was a member of the ...

and the Belgian Communist Party led by Joseph Jacquemotte, following a split from the

Belgian Workers Party The Belgian Labour Party ( nl, Belgische Werkliedenpartij, BWP; french: Parti ouvrier belge, POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist ...

. At the time of its foundation, KPB/PCB had around 500 members. KPB/PCB became the Belgian section of the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

. The party gained parliamentary presence in 1925, as both Van Overstraeten and Jacquemotte were elected to the Chamber of Representatives. By 1935 KPB/PCB had 9 deputies in the Chamber and 4 members in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. In 1938 it had a membership of about 8,500. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the party had to go underground during German occupation. The party was also closely affiliated with the Partisans Armés, a resistance group during the occupation, however in 1943 much of the party leadership was arrested by German forces. After the end of the war, the party was strengthened and obtained 25% in the parliamentary elections. The party participated in a coalition government with the socialists and the liberals from 1946 to 1947. On 18 August 1950 the party chairman,

, was assassinated. In the mid 1960s the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

estimated the party membership to be approximately 9,890. KPB/PCB lost its parliamentary presence in 1985. In 1989 KPB/PCB was divided into two separate parties, Kommunistische Partij in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and Parti Communiste in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

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

Chairmen of KPB/PCB

1945–1950 * Ernest Burnelle 1954–1968 * Marc Drumaux 1968–1972 *

1972–1989

General Secretaries of KPB/PCB

* Edgard Lalmand 1943–1954

Notable members

Bert Van Hoorick Bert Van Hoorick (31 January 1915 – 19 February 2000) was a Belgian politician and writer. He was a member of the Belgian parliament from 1946 up to 1949 and from 1958 until 1976. When 18 years old, he joined the Belgian socialist party ...

Edward Gierek Edward Gierek (; 6 January 1913 – 29 July 2001) was a Polish Communist politician and ''de facto'' leader of Poland between 1970 and 1980. Gierek replaced Władysław Gomułka as First Secretary of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party (P ...

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bound ...

Charles Plisnier Charles Plisnier (13 December 1896, Ghlin – 17 July 1952, Brussels) was a Belgian writer from Wallonia. Biography He was a Communist in his youth and briefly belonged to the Trotskyist movement in the late 1920s. He disavowed communism, ...

Communist burgomasters (mayors)

* Marcel Levaux (1926–2006), last mayor of Cheratte (

Liège province Liège (; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium. Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the ...

) from April 1971 to December 1976 (in 1977 this commune was absorbed into

Visé Visé (; nl, Wezet, ; wa, Vizé) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, located on the river Meuse in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Argenteau, Cheratte, Lanaye, Lixhe, Richelle ...

), deputy from 1968 to 1981 * René Noël, last mayor of

Cuesmes Cuesmes (; wa, Cweme) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Mons, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The famous artist, Vincent van Gogh, lived here during the years of 1879- 1880, at Maison Van Gogh (now a mu ...

(

Hainaut province Hainaut (, also , , ; nl, Henegouwen ; wa, Hinnot; pcd, Hénau), historically also known as Heynowes in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clockwi ...

) from 1965 to 1971 (in 1972 this commune was absorbed into

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

), senator from 1949 to 1950, then again from 1954 to 1974 * Marcel Mereau, mayor of

Hensies Hensies (; pcd, Hinzi; wa, Inzî) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has 6,857 inhabitants, as of January 1, 2017. The total area is 25.99 km², giving a population density of 258 inhabitants per ...

(

) * Elie Hoyas, mayor of Le Roeulx (

) from 1976 to 1982 * Marcel Couteau, mayor of Le Roeulx (

) from 1982 to 1985, deputy from 1968 to 1974 * Henri Glineur, mayor of

Roux Roux () is a mixture of flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. Roux is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. The flour is added to the melted fat or oil on the stove top, blended until smooth, and c ...

(now a part of

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

) from 1947 to 1950, senator from 1946 to 1954 * René Mathy, last mayor of Vyle-et-Tharoul (in 1977 this commune was absorbed into

Marchin Marchin (; wa, Mårcin) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Marchin had a total population of 5,114. The total area is 30.00 km² which gives a population density of 170 inhabitan ...

) * Paul Carette, mayor of Warchin (in 1977 this commune was absorbed into

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Eurome ...

)

Election results

In the 1971 and 1977 General Elections, the Communist Party used separate lists for both Flanders and Wallonia, despite remaining a single party
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

Sources

Geschiedenis van de Belgische KP

References

{{Authority control

Defunct communist parties in Belgium Political parties established in 1921 Political parties disestablished in 1989 1921 establishments in Belgium 1989 disestablishments in Belgium