The Loppem Coup (, ) or Loppem Agreement (''Pacte de Lophem'', ''Akkoord van Loppem'') refers to a series of meetings held privately by

King Albert I Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. He is popularly referred to as the Knight King (, ) or Soldier King (, ) in Belgium in reference to his role during World War I ...

at the Castle of Loppem in

Loppem Zedelgem (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Aartrijke, Loppem, Veldegem and Zedelgem proper. On January 1, 2019, Zedelgem had a total population of 22,813. The tota ...

(Lophem),

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

on 11 to 14 November 1918 about the future political order in

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 ...

after the end of

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 ...

. The term "coup" originated among conservative Catholic critics in the 1930s who denounced the King's actions as an unconstitutional

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. Convened in the aftermath of the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

in the days before the King's triumphant return to

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 ...

which had been occupied since 1914, the Loppem meetings consisted of a series of private audiences with prominent

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and liberal politicians and notables such as

Edward Anseele Edward Anseele (26 July 1856 – 18 February 1938) was a Belgian socialist politician. Edward Anseele became active in the early Belgian socialist movement. Anseele attended the Royal Athenaeum in Ghent until the age of 17. Career Edward Anseele ...

Paul-Émile Janson Paul-Émile (Paul Emil) Janson (30 May 1872 – 3 March 1944) was a francophone Belgian liberal politician who served as the Prime Minister of Belgium from 1937 to 1938. During the German occupation, he was arrested as a political prisoner and ...

, and

Émile Francqui Émile Francqui (; 25 June 1863 – 1 November 1935) was a Belgian soldier, diplomat, businessman and philanthropist. Career Émile Francqui was sent to a military school when he was just 15 years old. At the age of 21, like many young offi ...

who had become prominent in German-occupied Belgium. A number of sensitive political topics were discussed, including

universal male suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the sl ...

labour rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, the ...

, and the status of

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the List of languages by total number of speak ...

, notably in higher education. The meetings preceded the creation of a

national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other na ...

under

Léon Delacroix Léon Frédéric Gustave Delacroix (; 27 December 1867 – 15 October 1929) was a Belgian statesman. Before entering politics, he was a renowned lawyer, and served as president of the Belgian Court of Cassation from 1917 to 1918. In the context ...

on 21 November, sometimes referred to as the "Loppem Government" (''gouvernement de Lophem''/''regering van Loppem''). Although led by a

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 ...

prime minister, the new government also included liberals and socialists and marked the end of nearly four decades of exclusive Catholic political dominance in Belgian politics. On 22 November, King Albert I re-entered Brussels at the head of the Belgian Army in a

Joyous Entry A Joyous Entry (; ) is a ceremonial event marking the entry into a city by a monarch, prince, duke, or governor in parts of modern-day Belgium. Originating in the Middle Ages, it generally coincided with the affirmation or extension of the city' ...

. He announced a new legislative programme to include the abolition of the pre-war electoral system of

plural voting Plural voting is the practice whereby one person might be able to vote multiple times in an election. It is not to be confused with a plurality voting system, which elects winners by relative lead in vote tallies and does not necessarily involve pl ...

and the creation of a new university taught exclusively in Dutch. The political innovations in November 1918 shocked conservative Catholics who ultimately succeeded in delaying some of the new measures. On learning of the Loppem discussions, some radical conservatives denounced them as a "coup" in which the monarch, either at his own initiative or under socialist pressure amid the November Revolution in Germany, had overstepped his constitutional prerogatives to favour the political left. King Albert I was forced to issue a public letter on 10 February 1930 clarifying his account of the discussions.

See also

References

Further reading