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

Charles-Ferdinand Nicolas Marie Pierre Nothomb (3 May 1936 – 19 April 2023) was a Belgian politician.

Family and early life

Nothomb was born in Brussels in 1936, the thirteenth and youngest child of the writer and politician Pierre Nothomb, and grew up in

Habay Habay (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 103.64 km2, had 7,903 inhabitants, giving a populati ...

in the

province of Luxembourg Luxembourg (; ; ; ; ; ), also called Belgian Luxembourg or West Luxembourg, is the southernmost Provinces of regions in Belgium, province of Wallonia within Belgium. It borders the country of Luxembourg to the east, the France, French depart ...

. He was descended from

Jean-Baptiste Nothomb Jean-Baptiste, Baron Nothomb (; 3 July 1805 – 16 September 1881) was a Belgian statesman and diplomat, who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1841 to 1845. Life Revolution Born at Messancy in Luxembourg on 3 July 1805, he was educ ...

, who served as

Prime Minister of Belgium The prime minister of Belgium (; ; ) or the premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government of Belgium, and the most powerful person in Belgian politics. The first head of government in Belgian history was Henri van der Noot in 179 ...

in the 1840s. In 1963 he married Michèle Pouppez de Kettenis de Hollaeken Dryepondt (born 1941), with whom he had three children, and was awarded the title of Baron three years later. He was an uncle of the diplomat Baron Patrick Nothomb and the politician

François Roelants du Vivier François Marie Gabriel André Charles-Ferdinand Roelants du Vivier (born 5 November 1947) is a Belgian politician and a member of Ecolo and later the FDF ( Francophone Democratic Federalists). He is part of the political family Nothomb; his gr ...

and a great-uncle of the writers

Juliette Juliette is a feminine personal name of French language, French origin. It is a diminutive of Julie (given name), Julie. People * Juliette Adam (1836–1936), née Lamber, French author and feminist * Juliette Atkinson (1873–1944), American ten ...

and

Amélie Nothomb Baroness Fabienne Claire Nothomb (; born 13 August 1967''État présent de la noblesse belge'', éditions of 1979, 1995 and 2010. Her birth is announced in n° 87, aout 1967, p. 340 of the ''Bulletin de l'association de la noblesse du royaume de ...

. Having obtained degrees in law (1957) and economic sciences (1958), Nothomb was a teacher and researcher at the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and other higher education establishments, and was also involved in the Christian Social Party youth movement.

Political career

Nothomb was elected to the national Chamber of Representatives in 1968 to represent the constituency of Arlon-Marche-Bastogne, a seat he held until 1995. He was president of the

Humanist Democratic Centre Humanist Democratic Centre (, CDH) was a Christian democratic and centrist French Community of Belgium, French-speaking Political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. The party originated in the split in 1972 of the unitary Christian So ...

party from 1972 to 1979 and president of the Chamber of Representatives from 1979 to 1980. Having served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

from 1979 to 1980, he was Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1980 to 1981 and

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

from 1981 to 1986. From 1988 to 1995 he served again as president of the Chamber of Representatives. Upon his retirement from the Chamber in 1995, Nothomb served a four-year term 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 ...

(1995−1999) and was again president of the Humanist Democratic Centre party from 1996 to 1999. From 2002 until his death he was Vice-President of

European Movement The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History Initially the Euro ...

. Nothomb was also the author of several political and historical works. He died on 19 April 2023, at the age of 86.

Honours

Nothomb was awarded the following decorations:

National honours

* Belgium: ** 1995:

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

, By Royal Decree of HM King Albert II. ** 1995: Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown. ** 1991: Grand Cross of the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

** 1987: Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold ** 1985: Civic Medal, 1st Class *

Belgian nobility The Belgian nobility comprises Belgian individuals or families recognized as noble with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of Belgium. The Belgian constitution states that no specific privileges are attached to the nobility. History ...

: title of

Foreign honours

* France: Grand Officier of the

Legion of honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(20 February 1984) * Gabon: Grand Cross of the

National Order of Merit (Gabon) The National Order of Merit () is a Order (distinction), state order of the Gabon, Gabonese Republic. The Order was instituted in 1971 and is awarded in five grades to both Gabonese and foreign nationals. It rewards civil and military services ...

(14 January 1982) * Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of Honour (3 April 1982) * Iceland: Knights Grand Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

(16 October 1979) * Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

* Mexico: Grand Cross of the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle () forms part of the Mexican Honors System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners. History It was created by decree on December 29, 1933, by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez as a reward to ...

* Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

(4 September 1980)Nationaal Archief, inventory 2.02.32, dossier 374, registry number 1566 * Poland: Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland () is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident abroad. As such, it is sometimes referred to as ...

(24 September 1979)

References

External links

*
Official site
(French only)
Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nothomb, Charles-Ferdinand 1936 births 2023 deaths Belgian barons Belgian nobility Ministers of state of Belgium Humanist Democratic Centre MEPs Humanist Democratic Centre politicians Deputy prime ministers of Belgium Ministers of the interior of Belgium Foreign ministers of Belgium Politicians from Brussels Presidents of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) MEPs for Belgium 1979–1984 Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic