Marie Janson (23 July 1873 – 8 March 1960) was a Belgian politician and the first woman to serve in the

Belgian senate The Senate ( ; ; ) is one of the two chambers of the Bicameralism, bicameral Belgian Federal Parliament, Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium), Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be ...

. She was a daughter of

Paul Janson Paul Janson (11 April 1840 – 19 April 1913) was a Belgium, Belgian liberalism, liberal politician.Jean Francis ''Mes belges années'' 1974 "Paul Janson ne demeura que quatre ans dans la cité liégeoise car sa famille vint s'établir à I ...

and Anna-Augustine Amoré. Born 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 ...

, her father

was leading member of the progressive wing of the Belgian liberal movement and founder of the Fédération progressiste. Her brother Paul-Émile Janson served as

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 ...

. Marie's mother, Anna-Augustine Amoré was a well-educated woman of middle-origins who had worked as teacher at Isabelle Gatti de Gamond's school before her marriage; Marie herself was educated there. On 22 July 1894, she married lawyer and playwright Paul Spaak. The couple had four children, of whom

Paul-Henri Spaak Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman who thrice served as the prime minister of Belgium and later as the second secretary general of NATO. Nicknam ...

, later Belgian Prime Minister like his uncle Paul-Émile, was the most famous. During the

First World War 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 ...

Marie was active in social work and this led her to join the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

. She was elected to the municipal council of Saint-Gilles in 1921, and the same year was selected by the party's executive, led by

Émile Vandervelde Emile Vandervelde (25 January 1866 – 27 December 1938) was a Belgian socialist politician. Nicknamed "the boss" (''le patron''), Vandervelde was a leading figure in the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP) and in international socialism. Career Em ...

, to serve in the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( ; ; ) is one of the two chambers of the Bicameralism, bicameral Belgian Federal Parliament, Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium), Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be ...

. She continued to serve as a co-opted senator until 1958. Her long service led to her presiding over the opening of the Senate on 11 November 1952. Her granddaughter Antoinette Spaak followed in her footsteps, achieving another first: first woman to lead a Belgian political party, the Democratic Front of Francophones.

References

* Piette, Valérie, "JANSON Marie (1873–1960), épouse SPAAK" in E. Gubin, C. Jacques, V. Piette & J. Puissant (eds), ''Dictionnaire des femmes belges: XIXe et XXe siècles.'' Bruxelles: Éditions Racine, 2006. 1873 births 1960 deaths Politicians from Brussels Marie Janson Belgian Labour Party politicians Belgian Socialist Party politicians 20th-century Belgian women politicians 20th-century Belgian politicians Women members of the Senate (Belgium) {{Brussels-politician-stub Gatticiennes