Léon Van der Rest (1846–1932) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

lawyer, businessman and governor of the

National Bank of Belgium The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; nl, Nationale Bank van België, french: Banque nationale de Belgique, german: Belgische Nationalbank) has been the central bank of Belgium since 1850. The National Bank of Belgium was established with 100% pr ...

(NBB) from 1918 until 1923.

Career

He started his career as a lawyer at the Brussels Bar, but after a few years took charge of the family business as an

ironmonger Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminiu ...

. Besides being active in the family business, he also served as commissioner for a number of other companies. In 1888 he became a member of the discount committee of the NBB, while being an administrator of the ''Crédit Anversois''. In 1898 he was appointed as a censor of the bank and in 1905 as a director. In 1912, he became vice-governor under

Théophile de Lantsheere Théophile Charles André de Lantsheere (4 November 1833 – 21 February 1918) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician. Born in Asse, de Lantsheere was a student of law, obtaining a doctorate, and practiced as an advocate in Brussels. He w ...

. When Théophile de Lantsheere was removed as governor of the bank by the Germans on 22 December 1914 at the start of the occupation of Belgium during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he became in charge of the NBB. During the war Léon Van der Rest, was vice-president of the National Aid and Food Provision Committee, under

Emile Francqui Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

. After the war, he became governor of the NBB in 1918. The immediate postwar period knew a rampant inflation and loss of value of the

belgian franc The Belgian franc ( nl, Belgische frank, french: Franc belge, german: Belgischer Franken) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutc ...

. In 1923, he did not seek the renewal of this term as governor and became the first honorary governor of the NBB. He was succeeded by

Fernand Hautain Fernand Hautain (1858–1942) was a Belgian businessman and governor of the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) from 1923 until 1926. Career He started his career at an early age, and combined working with evening classes and self-tuition. He started w ...

Sources

Léon Van der Rest
1846 births 1932 deaths 20th-century Belgian lawyers Belgian businesspeople Belgian civil servants Governors of the National Bank of Belgium {{Belgium-business-bio-stub