Paul Janson (11 April 1840 – 19 April 1913) was a Belgian

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

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 Ixelles, rue de l'Arbre-bénit mais tout son atavisme était wallon et il continua de se sentir tel. Bien plus tard, il écrira : « Là où se trouve la Meuse..", écrira-t-il beaucoup plus tard, "je suis content". Born in

Herstal Herstal (; ), formerly known as Heristal, or Héristal (), is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. It lies along the Meuse river. Herst ...

in the Province of Liège, Janson studied philosophy and law at the Free University of Brussels. From an early age he was a strong supporter of electoral reform and stood on the progressive wing of the Belgian liberal movement. A modern study suggests that only "his visceral rejection of the

class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

" kept him from the burgeoning socialist movement. Janson was elected to the

Belgian Chamber of Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (; ; ) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered to be the "lower house" of the Federal Parliament. Members and elections Article 62 o ...

for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in 1877, but was not re-elected in 1884. That year he became a local councillor 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 ...

. Re-elected in 1889, he continued to agitate for universal suffrage, having established the Fédération progressiste of liberals who shared this, and other progressive goals. Universal male suffrage, albeit with plural vote, was introduced following a general strike in 1893. In his later years he favoured electoral co-operation with 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 ...

. He was appointed an honorary

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 ...

on 14 August 1912. Paul Janson was the father of future

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 ...

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

Marie Janson Marie Janson (23 July 1873 – 8 March 1960) was a Belgian politician and the first woman to serve in the Belgian senate. She was a daughter of Paul Janson and Anna-Augustine Amoré. Born in Brussels, her father Paul Janson was leading mem ...

(later Spaak), first female member of the Belgian parliament, mother of Prime Minister

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 ...

References

*
Biography of Paul Janson
at the ''Centre Jean Gol'' of the

Reformist Movement The Reformist Movement (, , MR) is a liberal French-speaking political party in Belgium, which includes social-liberal and conservative-liberal factions. Stemming from the Belgian Liberal Party founded in 1846, the MR is one of the oldest par ...

, modern heir of the liberal party *
Paul Janson
1840 births 1913 deaths Ministers of state of Belgium People from Herstal Liberal Party (Belgium) politicians Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni {{Brussels-politician-stub