Henri de Merode-Westerloo

Henri de Merode-Westerloo

Henri (Hendrik) Charles Marie Ghislain Count de Mérode-Westerloo, 11th Margrave of Westerloo, 8th Prince of Rubempré, 5th Prince of Grimbergen (born December 28, 1856 in Paris , † July 13, 1908 in Lausanne ) was a Belgian Politician , Mayor of Westerlo , Foreign Minister and President of the Senate .

biography

Henri came from the noble family of the Merode . His father Charles de Mérode-Westerloo was also President of the Senate and Mayor of Westerlo.

He himself studied law at the Catholic University of Leuven and received his doctorate in law in 1879 .

He began his political career in 1882 when he was elected a member of the Provincial Council of the Province of Antwerp , of which he was a member of the Katholieke Partij until 1884. He then became a member of the Chamber of Deputies , where he represented the arrondissement of Brussels between 1884 and 1892 and then again from 1894 to 1896 . After the death of his father in 1892 he succeeded him as mayor of Westerlo and held this office until his death.

On October 31, 1892, he was appointed Foreign Minister by Prime Minister Auguste Beernaert in his government and held this office in the subsequent government of Prime Minister Jules de Burlet until May 25, 1895.

After he represented the interests of the district of Turnhout in the Chamber of Deputies between 1896 and 1900 , he became a member of the Senate in 1900 and represented the districts of Mechlin and Turnhout there until his death .

Most recently he was also President of the Senate from December 2, 1903 until his death.

His son Charles de Merode, 12th Count of Westerloo, was also Mayor of Westerlo between 1913 and 1947 and the last descendant of Count Willem de Merode.

literature

• De Voght, Jozef: Graaf Hendrik de Merode-Westerlo , in: Ons Volk Ontwaakt , October 4, 1913.

Web links

• Belgian Ministries (rulers.org)