Jules Edouard Xavier Malou (, 19 October 1810 – 11 July 1886) was a Belgian statesman who served as 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 ...

from 1874 to 1878 and again from June to October 1884.

Career

Malou was born in

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

. He was a civil servant in the department of justice when he was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

by his native constituency in 1841, and was for some time governor of the province of Antwerp. He served as

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 ...

in the coalition ministry of Jean Baptiste, Baron Nothomb in 1844 and formed with B. T. de Theux de Meylandt a Catholic cabinet in 1846 which lost power after the Liberal victory of 1847. Malou then became a member of the senate, and his party only regained ascendancy in

1870 Events January * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...

. The distinctly clerical ministry of Baron Jules d'Anethan retired in December 1871 after serious rioting in

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 ...

, and Malou was the real, though not the nominal, head of the more moderate clerical administrations of de Theux and Aspremont-Lynden (1870–1878). He disavowed the sympathy of Belgian

Ultramontane Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by ...

politicians with the German victims of the

Kulturkampf In the history of Germany, the ''Kulturkampf'' (Cultural Struggle) was the seven-year political conflict (1871–1878) between the Catholic Church in Germany led by Pope Pius IX and the Kingdom of Prussia led by chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Th ...

, and, retaining in his own hands the portfolio of finance, he subordinated his clerical policy to a useful administration in commercial matters, including a development of the railway system.

As prime minister

It was only after the fall of the ministry in 1878 that he adopted a strongly pro-clerical policy, and when he became chief of a new government in June 1884 he proceeded to undo the secularisation of education instituted by the Liberal Frère-Orban ministry. His legislation in favor of the Catholic schools caused rioting in Brussels, and in October the king demanded the retirement of Jacobs and Woeste, the members of the cabinet against whom popular indignation was chiefly directed. Malou followed them into retirement.

Later life

An experienced financier, his works (of which a long list is given in Konincks ''Bibliographie nationale de Belgique'') include three series (1874–1880) of memoirs on financial questions, edited by him for the Chamber of Deputies, besides pamphlets on railroad proposals, mining and other practical questions. He died in

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert Woluwe-Saint-Lambert ( French, ) or Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe ( Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). In French, ...

, Brabant in 1886. His brother Jean-Baptiste Malou (1809–1864) was a well-known theologian who served as

Bishop of Bruges The Diocese of Bruges (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen ...

Honours

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 *: Grand Cordon in the Order of Leopold *: Knight Grand Cross in 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 ...

*: Knight Grand Cross in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

*: Knight Grand Cross in the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

* Grand Cross in the Illustrious Royal Order of Saint JanuariusAlmanach royal officiel: 1875 p137

References

Sources

* Steve Heylen, Bart De Nil, Bart D’hondt, Sophie Gyselinck, Hanne Van Herck en Donald Weber, ''Geschiedenis van de provincie Antwerpen. Een politieke biografie'', Antwerpen, Provinciebestuur Antwerpen, 2005, Vol. 2 p. 125

External links

Jules Malou
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Malou, Jules 1810 births 1886 deaths Prime ministers of Belgium Ministers of finance of Belgium Governors of Antwerp Province Ministers of state of Belgium Catholic Party (Belgium) politicians Politicians from Ypres