The ''Cercle Gaulois'', in full the ''Cercle Royal Gaulois Artistique et Littéraire'', is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

male-only

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

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 ...

that promotes art. The club has the aim of constituting a friendly, intellectual, artistic and literary meeting place, free of any political, cultural or philosophical tendency. Its current president is Geoffroy Generet. The club is located at 5 ''

rue de la Loi The () or ( Dutch), meaning "Law Street", is a major street running through central and eastern Brussels, Belgium, which is famous due to the presence of several notable Belgian and European Union (EU) governmental buildings. The road runs fr ...

'' in the historic

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

building in

Brussels Park Brussels Park (french: Parc de Bruxelles, ; nl, Warandepark) is the largest urban public park in central Brussels, Belgium. Formerly known and still sometimes colloquially referred to as the Royal Park (french: Parc royal, nl, Koninklijk Park ...

, behind the

Royal Park Theatre The Royal Park Theatre (french: Théâtre royal du Parc, nl, Koninklijk Parktheater) is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium. It is located at 3, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, on the edge of Brussels Park, facing the Belgian House of Parliament (Palace ...

History

The ''Cercle Royal Artistique et Littéraire'' ("Artistic and Literary Royal Circle") was founded in Brussels on 23 November 1848. The ''Cercle de la Toison d’Or'' ("Circle of the Golden Fleece") was founded in Brussels on 23 December 1911, and its name was changed to the ''Cercle Gaulois'' ("Gallic Circle") on 13 June 1919. The ''Cercle Gaulois'' became the ''Cercle Royal Gaulois'' ("Gallic Royal Circle") by authorization of His Majesty King Leopold III of Belgium on 16 February 1937. In 1950, the ''Cercle Royal Gaulois'' merged with the ''Cercle Royal Artistique et Littéraire'' and changed its name to the ''Cercle Royal Gaulois Artistique et Littéraire''.

Functions

Today, the club serves many purposes. It organises concerts, exhibitions and conferences in which all forms of art are represented, including culinary art. Following a tradition that dates back to 1971, every Tuesday evening, a club member is appointed master of fine dining. This member creates a menu together with a head chef and presents it to the guests. At the end of the meal, this member is appraised.Introduction
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Notable members

Étienne Davignon Étienne, Count Davignon (born 4 October 1932 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Belgian politician, businessman, and former vice-president of the European Commission. Career After receiving a Doctorate of Law from the Catholic University of Louvai ...

* Armand Dedecker *

Albert Frère Albert, Baron Frère (4 February 1926 – 3 December 2018) was a Belgian billionaire businessman. Early life Frère grew up as a son of a nail merchant and helped in the business since an early age. His father died when Frère was 17; Frère h ...

* Derrick Gosselin *

Pierre Harmel Pierre Charles José Marie, Count Harmel (16 March 1911 – 15 November 2009) was a Belgian lawyer, Christian Democratic politician and diplomat. Harmel served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1965 to 1966. Early life He was born in Uccle ...

* Tony Mary * Gérard Mestrallet * Diego du Monceau de Bergendal * Michel Tilmant *

Karel Van Miert Karel Antonius Lucia Maria van Miert (; 17 January 1942 – 22 June 2009) was a Flemish politician of the Different Socialist Party and official of the European Commission. Biography He was born in Oud-Turnhout. He studied at Ghent University ( ...

(died in 2009) * Alain Siaens *

André Antoine André Antoine (31 January 185823 October 1943) was a French actor, theatre manager, film director, author, and critic who is considered the father of modern mise en scène in France. Biography André Antoine was a clerk at the Paris Gas Utilit ...

* Paul Buysse *

Mark Eyskens Marc Maria Frans, viscount Eyskens (born 29 April 1933), known as Mark Eyskens, is a Belgian economist, professor and politician in the Christian People's Party, now called Christian Democratic and Flemish, and briefly served as the prime minis ...

Sources

Remarks by Ambassador Korologos at the Cercle Royal Gaulois Luncheon Thursday, March 17, 2005

Assemblée générale de la Société de la Légion d’Honneur - 15 novembre 2006
* Jan Puype, ''De elite van België - Welkom in de club'', Van Halewyck

References

External links