Gustave Charles Sap (21 January 1886 – 19 March 1940) was a Belgian politician and minister for the Catholic Party. Sap was also professor at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (; ) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven (1968 ...

(

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

). During his professional career, he was active in the

Flemish movement The Flemish Movement (, ) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgium, Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemis ...

, agriculture and business. In 1920, he married Antoinette Gylsen, daughter of the

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

shipowner Henry Gylsen, and together they had five daughters and one son. Gustave Sap was the father-in-law of

André Vlerick André, Baron Vlerick (11 September 1919 – 3 December 1990) was a Belgian politician, businessman, professor and founder of the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School. He graduated in economy at the University of Ghent and was appointed at the ...

, Jan Piers and Albert De Smaele.

Education

From 1901 until 1905, Sap attended the

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

normal school in

Torhout Torhout (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of Wijnendale and Sint-Henri ...

. He began his career as a teacher, but went on to study at the

, where he graduated in 1911 in commercial and consular sciences. On 20 June 1912, he obtained a doctorate from Leuven with a thesis on

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

stock market regulation: ''Le régime légal des bourses en Allemagne. Lois du 22 juin 1896 et du 8 mai 1908''.

Career

Sap began his career as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

in 1905, which lasted until 1908. In 1913, he began teaching

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange a ...

transactions at the ''Hogere Handelsschool'' of the Catholic University of Leuven. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he progressed to lecturer, and in 1920, he became a professor in the law department of the university. When

ignited, Sap fled to

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, where he was the private secretary of Minister

Joris Helleputte Joris or Georges Helleputte (1852–1925) was a Belgian politician and Gothic Revival architect. He served as Minister of Agriculture and Public Works and Minister of Railways, Post and Telegraphs. Early life and education Helleputte was born to ...

(

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

), President of the ''

Boerenbond The Boerenbond (; ; ) is a professional association of farmers active in the Flemish and German-speaking communities of Belgium. Founded in 1890 and based in Leuven, the Boerenbond is an organisation promotes the interests of farmers working ...

'' (Belgian Catholic Farmers Association) from March 1915 until November 1918. During the war, he continued his activities in the

and supported the ''Vlaamse frontbeweging'' (E: Flemish frontmovement). After the war, he joined the Catholic Party instead of the ''

Frontpartij The ''Frontpartij'' (, "Front Party") was a Belgian political party that campaigned for increasing recognition for the Flemish people and their language. Originating from the earlier ''Frontbeweging'' (, "Front Movement"), the ''Frontpartij'' wa ...

'', but remained sympathetic of its cause. On 5 May 1919, he joined the management of the Catholic ''Leuvense Volksbank'', and on 7 May 1921, he participated in the foundation of the Algemeene Bankvereeniging (ABV) in

. Since 1927, Sap was also owner of the

Catholic 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 ...

daily ''

De Standaard (, ) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish Party, and in opposition to the Sociali ...

'', which was founded by

Frans Van Cauwelaert Frans Van Cauwelaert (10 January 1880 – 17 May 1961), was a Belgian Roman Catholic politician and lawyer. Van Cauwelaert was born at Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Lombeek. He was a member of the Flemish movement, Professor of psychology at the Katholieke ...

Alfons Van de Perre Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...

and Arnold Hendrix in 1919 with his financial support, when he acquired the majority of its shares. He would use the newspaper as a political instrument and move it to a more radical Flemish point of view. From 1920 up to 1940 he was a member of parliament for the district

Roeselare Roeselare (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The name of the city is derived from two ...

Tielt Tielt (; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Tielt proper and the villages of Aarsele, Kanegem, and Schuiferskapelle. History Some traces of Gallo-Roman occupation hav ...

, for the farmers of the Catholic Party. In 1931 he participated in opposing the ''Jamar'' government, but afterwards refused to join the ''Renkin'' government. On 23 May 1932 Renkin created a new government, which Sap joined this time. Sap was Minister of

public work Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

and of

and tradespeople (1932–1934),

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

(1934), Minister of economy and trade (1939–1940) in the government of

Hubert Pierlot Hubert Marie Eugène Pierlot (, 23 December 1883 – 13 December 1963) was a Belgian politician and Prime Minister of Belgium, serving between 1939 and 1945. Pierlot, a lawyer and jurist, served in World War I before entering politics in the 192 ...

. As a Council member of the Catholic Boerenbond (E:Belgian Farmers Association) in 1934, he could not avoid the bankruptcy of the Middenkredietkas and the Algemeene Bankvereeniging due to the

economic crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and ma ...

and management issues. He came into conflict with

Paul van Zeeland Paul Guillaume, Viscount van Zeeland (11 November 1893 – 22 September 1973) was a Belgian lawyer, economist, Catholic politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 1935 to 1937. Biography van Zeeland was born in Soi ...

on economic aspects of the government policy and the

National Bank of Belgium The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; , NBB; , BNB; , BNB) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Belgium within the Eurosystem. It was the Belgian central bank from 1850 until 1998, established by law of and issuin ...

(speech of 16 March 1937). In 1937, he was temporarily ousted from the Catholic Party because of his sympathies for the

extreme right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

Catholic parties and

Leon Degrelle Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

.Gerard, E. De katholieke partij in crisis. Partijpolitiek leven in België (1918–1940). Leuven, 1985

References

Sources

* Gedenkboek Gustaaf Sap 1886-1940. Brussel, 1941.
Gustave Sap
(Dutch)

External links

*
Gustave Sap
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sap, Gustave 1886 births 1940 deaths Ministers of finance of Belgium 20th-century Belgian businesspeople Belgian newspaper publishers (people) Belgian Roman Catholics Academic staff of the Université catholique de Louvain People from West Flanders People from Kortemark