Pierre Grignard was a Belgian politician who served as the last Mayor of Neutral Moresnet from 1918 until 1921, when the territory was dissolved and annexed by

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 ...

as part of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

. Grignard subsequently served as the first mayor of the Belgian municipality of

Kelmis Kelmis (; , ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Liège (province), Liège, named for the historical deposits of Calamine (mineral), calamine (zinc ore) nearby. , the population was 10,881; the ...

until 1923.

Life

Grignard, while serving as a council member in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, took office as mayor of Neutral Moresnet on 7 December 1918, less than a month after the signing of the Armistice between France and Germany, which forced Germany to withdraw from Belgium and Neutral Moresnet and led to the ouster of Mayor

Wilhelm Kyll Wilhelm Kyll (1876–1956) was a German politician who served as the Mayor of Neutral Moresnet from 29 March 1915 until 7 December 1918. Life Wilhelm Kyll was town clerk (''Stadtsekretär'') in Wittlich (1900-1907) and Linz am Rhein (1907-1910), ...

, a German national. On 28 June 1919 the

settled the dispute that had created the neutral territory a century earlier by awarding Neutral Moresnet, along with Prussian Moresnet and the German municipalities of

Eupen and Malmedy Eupen-Malmedy is a small, predominantly German-speaking region in eastern Belgium. It consists of three administrative cantons around the towns of Eupen, Malmedy, and Sankt Vith which encompass some . Elsewhere in Belgium, the region is commonly ...

, to Belgium. The treaty became effective on 10 January 1920, ending both Grignard's term as mayor and the existence of Neutral Moresnet, which became the Belgian municipality of

. Despite the change, Grignard effectively stayed in office and became the first mayor of Kelmis. The 10 members of Neutral Moresnet's council were confirmed for the Kelmis municipal council after its Prussian members renounced their nationality. They remained in office until the election of a new municipal council on 7 February 1923.

References

Mayors of Moresnet Year of birth missing Year of death missing Neutral Moresnet {{Neutral Moresnet-stub