Jean Louis Joseph Lebeau (; 3 January 1794 – 19 March 1865) was a Belgian liberal statesman, the

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 ...

on two occasions.

Biography

Born in Huy, he received his early education from an uncle who was

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

in Hannut, and became a clerk. He raised money to study Law at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium founded in 1817 and based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French (language), French. History The university was foun ...

, and was called to the

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.

in 1819. While in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, he formed a fast friendship with Charles Rogier and Paul Devaux, together with whom he founded at Liege in 1824 the '' Mathieu Laensbergh'', afterwards '' Le politique'', a journal which helped to unite the Catholic Party with the Liberals in their opposition to the cabinet, without manifesting any open disaffection to the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

. Lebeau had not aimed for the separation of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and Belgium, but his hand was forced by the

August Revolution The August Revolution (), also known as the August General Uprising (), was a revolution led by the Việt Minh against the Empire of Vietnam from 16 August to 2 September 1945. The Empire of Vietnam was led by the Nguyễn dynasty and was ...

of 1830. He was sent by his native district to the National Congress, and became minister of foreign affairs in March 1831 during the interim regency of Érasme-Louis Surlet de Chokier. By proposing the election of Leopold of Saxe-Coburg as ''

King of the Belgians The monarchy of Belgium is the Constitutional monarchy, constitutional and Inheritance, hereditary institution of the monarchical head of state of the Kingdom of Belgium. As a popular monarchy, the Belgian monarch uses the title king/quee ...

'' he secured a benevolent attitude on the part of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, but the restoration to the Netherlands of part of the duchies of Limburg and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

provoked a heated opposition to the 1839 Treaty of London, and Lebeau was accused of treachery to Belgian interests. He resigned the direction of foreign affairs on the accession of King Leopold, but in the next year became minister of justice. He was elected deputy for

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in 1833, and retained his seat until 1848. Differences with the king led to his retirement in 1834. He was subsequently governor of the Province of Namur (1838), ambassador to the Frankfurt Diet (1839), and in 1840 he formed a short-lived Liberal ministry. From this time he held no office of state, although he continued his energetic support of liberal and

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, ...

measures. He died at Huy.

Works

Lebeau published ''La Belgique depuis'' 1847 (Brussels, 4 vols., 1852), ''Lettres aux électeurs belges'' (8 vols., Brussels, 1853–1856). His ' (Brussels, 1883) were edited by A. Freson.

Honours

* Officer Order of Leopold.Almanach royal officiel de Belgique De Decq, 1841

References

* ''In turn, it cites as references:'' **A. Freson, "Joseph Lebeau", in the ''

Biographie nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

'' **T. Juste, ''Joseph Lebeau'' (Brussels, 1865). , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lebeau, Joseph 1794 births 1865 deaths Ministers of state of Belgium Governors of Namur (province) Liberal Party (Belgium) politicians Members of the National Congress of Belgium People from Huy People of the Belgian Revolution Prime ministers of Belgium University of Liège alumni

Biography

Works

Honours

See also

References