Jean (Jan) Marie Joseph, Baron Van Houtte (17 March 1907 – 23 May 1991) was a Belgian politician who served as the

prime minister of Belgium german: Premierminister von Belgien , insignia = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Coat of arms , insigniaalt = , flag = Government ...

from 1952 to 1954. Born in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, van Houtte held a doctorate in law and lectured at

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

and the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

. He served as chairman of the Belgian Institute of Public Finance and represented the PSC-CVP in the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parlia ...

from 1949 to 1968. Having served as

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

in the governments of Jean Duvieusart (1950) and

Joseph Pholien Joseph Clovis Louis Marie Emmanuel Pholien (28 December 1884 – 4 January 1968) was a Belgian Catholic politician and member of the PSC-CVP. He was born in Liège, and volunteered to serve with the Belgian army during World War I, being commi ...

(1950–1952), van Houtte replaced Pholien to become the 38th Prime Minister of Belgium in January 1952. His period in office was marked by disputes over

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

, and in particular the length of service of conscripts, and over the treatment of collaborators, where van Houtte controversially favoured a mild approach. An

economic recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

added to his troubles. Van Houtte again served as

from 1958 to 1961 under

Gaston Eyskens Gaston François Marie, viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC). He served t ...

. He was governor of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, named an honorary

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

in 1966, and made a

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

in 1970.

Honours

* : Created Baron van Houtte by Royal Decree in 1970. * :

, by Royal Decree. * : President of the Royal Academy. * : Commander in the Order of Leopold. * : knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Crown. * knight Grand Cross in the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

References

External links

Jean Van Houtte
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
1907 births 1991 deaths Belgian Ministers of State Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct) politicians Finance ministers of Belgium 20th-century Belgian politicians Ghent University faculty Prime Ministers of Belgium University of Liège alumni Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Belgium-noble-stub