Pierre Grignard 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 ...

politician who served as the last Mayor of Neutral Moresnet from 1918 until 1920, when the territory was dissolved and annexed by

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

as part of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...

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

Kelmis Kelmis (; french: La Calamine, ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège, named for the historical deposits of calamine (zinc ore) nearby. , the population was 10,881; the area is and the population density is . The municipa ...

until 1923.

Life

Grignard, while serving as a council member in Liège, 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 June 28, 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