Everything about Hubert Pierlot totally explained
Hubert Marie Eugène, Count Pierlot (
December 23 1883,
Cugnon (Bertrix)—
December 13 1963,
Uccle) was a
Belgian Walloon politician and
jurist, the
Prime Minister of Belgium between
1939 and
1945 (a mandate coinciding with
World War II and
Nazi Germany's occupation of the country).
He was a representative of the
Catholic Party (which took various names during his lifetime) in the
Chamber of Deputies in 1925 (for
Neufchâteau), then to the
Senate for
Luxembourg Province (between 1926 and 1936) and
Arlon (from 1936 to 1946). He also served as
Minister of Internal Affairs (1934-1935),
Minister of Agriculture (1934-1935; 1936-1939), and
Minister of Foreign Affairs (1939). He first led a
coalition of Catholics and
Socialists, and then one of Catholics and
Liberals.
When the
Phony War broke, Pierlot became the leader of a
national government (or rather a tripartite one), which stayed in power until the German invasion in
1940. A few hours after Belgium capitulated on
May 27, he and
Paul-Henri Spaak met with the leaders of
France -
Paul Reynaud,
Maxime Weygand, and
Philippe Pétain. The meeting was conflictual, as both Belgian leaders attempted to explain their country's position in front of French hostility.
Pierlot later left for
London, where he led the
government in exile for the rest of the conflict. He gave full backing to the
Free French Forces, recognizing
Charles de Gaulle as the true leader of France in
1941. His government also directed the formation of the
Free Belgian Forces, a force that grew to over 100,000 men under arms by
VE Day. Upon his return to Belgium, he led another large coalition, which also included members of the
Communist Party of Belgium. Later in 1945, Pierlot was appointed
Minister of State.
Quote
- "Serious to the point of severity, honest to the point of scrupulosity, a never-tired worker, a devout Christian, a patriot, a model of civic, professional, and family virtues, he was an exceptional man." (Spaak on Pierlot; P.-H. Spaak, Combats inachevés, Fayard 1969, vol. I, p. 59)
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