Emile Vandervelde facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Emile Vandervelde
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Vandervelde, pictured in 1919
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| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 17 June 1925 – 21 November 1927 |
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| Preceded by | Paul Hymans |
| Succeeded by | Paul Hymans |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 24 October 1918 – 21 November 1918 |
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| Preceded by | Henry Carton de Wiart |
| Succeeded by | Aloys Vande Vyvere |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 January 1866 Ixelles, Belgium |
| Died | 27 December 1938 (aged 72) Ixelles, Belgium |
| Political party | Belgian Labour Party |
| Spouse | Lalla Vandervelde |
| Alma mater | Université libre de Bruxelles |
| Profession | Politician, economist, professor |
Emile Vandervelde (born 25 January 1866 – died 27 December 1938) was an important Belgian socialist politician. He was often called "the boss" (le patron). Vandervelde was a key leader in the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP). He also played a big role in socialist movements around the world.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Emile Auguste Vandervelde was born on 25 January 1866. His family lived in Ixelles, a suburb of Brussels, in Belgium. He came from a middle-class background.
In 1881, Vandervelde started studying law at the Free University of Brussels. At first, he was interested in Liberal politics. But soon, he became very interested in new ideas about socialism. Socialism is a political and economic idea where the community or state owns and controls the means of production, distribution, and exchange.
Joining the Socialist Movement
In 1885, Emile Vandervelde joined a small group called the Workers' League of Ixelles. The next year, in 1886, he joined the new Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP). He also worked as a professor at the Free University. Vandervelde was active in Freemasonry in Belgium. He was a member of a lodge called Les Amis philanthropes in Brussels.
Political Career and Key Ideas
After 1893, more men in Belgium were allowed to vote. This was called universal male suffrage. Vandervelde helped create a plan for the Belgian Labour Party. This plan was known as the Charter of Quaregnon. It guided Belgian socialist politics for many years.
In the 1894 elections, Vandervelde was elected to the Chamber of Representatives. This is like being a member of parliament. He represented the city of Charleroi. Later, he represented Brussels from 1900 to 1938.
He strongly disagreed with King Leopold II. Leopold II had a lot of power in the Congo during the 1890s. Vandervelde wrote many articles against this type of colonialism. Colonialism is when one country takes control of another country, often for its resources.
From 1900 to 1918, Vandervelde was the president of the Second International. This was a group of socialist and labor parties from different countries.
World War I and International Role
In 1914, Vandervelde became a Minister of State. He supported Belgium's decision to fight back against the German invasion in World War I. He was a respected socialist leader in Europe. He encouraged other socialists to support the war against Germany. He even sent a message to the socialist party in Russia, asking them to help with the war effort.
In 1916, he joined the Belgian government that was in exile. After the war, he was a delegate for Belgium at the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty officially ended World War I. He was also involved with the League of Nations. The League of Nations was an organization formed after WWI to promote peace.
In 1923, he helped start the Labour and Socialist International. He was its president until 1938.
Later Political Life
Vandervelde's main goals were to expand voting rights for everyone. He also wanted to promote social democracy. Social democracy is a political system that combines a capitalist economy with social policies to reduce inequality.
He wrote a lot about how the government should work in a socialist society. In 1913, he became a member of the Royal Academy of Belgium. He later became a director there.
He continued to oppose King Leopold II's efforts to increase his power in the Congo Free State. This was before Belgium officially took control of the Congo in 1908.
In 1922, Vandervelde joined other socialist lawyers. They traveled to Russia to defend members of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. This event was even mentioned in a funny poem by the Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.
From 1925 to 1927, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In this role, he helped with the Locarno Pact. This was a set of agreements to guarantee peace in Europe after World War I. Later, he served on the Council of Ministers (1935–36). He was also the Minister of Public Health (1936–37).
In 1933, Vandervelde became the first president of the Belgian Labour Party. However, his ideas about international cooperation and gradual changes (reformism) were sometimes challenged. Younger Belgian socialists had different views. During the Spanish Civil War, Vandervelde wanted to help stop the rise of fascism. Fascism is a political system led by a dictator who controls everything. But other socialists like Henri de Man and Paul-Henri Spaak disagreed with him.
His personal papers are kept at the Institut Émile Vandervelde in Brussels.
Works
- Les associations professionelles d'artisans et d'ouvriers en Belgique (1892)
- L'Evolution industrielle et le collectivisme (1896); English translation, Collectivism and Industrial Evolution (1901)
- Le question agraire en Belgique (1897)
- Le Socialisme en Belgique (1898), with Destrée
- L'Alcoolisme et les conditions de travail en Belgique (1899)
- Le propriété foncière en Belgique (1900)
- L'Exode rural et le retour aux champs (1903)
- Le Socialisme et l'agriculture (1906)
- Le Belgique et le Congo (1911)
- Three Aspects of The Russian Revolution (1918) (Archive.org)
- Le pays d'Israel : un marxiste en Palestine (1929) (sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de)
See also
In Spanish: Émile Vandervelde para niños
