Henri t'Kint de Roodenbeke

Henri t'Kint de Roodenbeke

Henri Marie Graf t'Kint de Roodenbeke (born April 14, 1817 in Brussels ; † November 6, 1900 there ) was a Belgian politician of the Catholic Party who was a member of both chambers of the Federal Parliament and President of the Senate .

biography

First he worked for the bank de Naeyer in Ghent and from 1841 married Zoé-Isabelle, the daughter of the owner Eugène-Joseph de Naeyer. He began his political career in 1847 when he was elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies , to which he belonged until 1857 as a representative of the Arrondissement of Ghent . Together with the then President of the Senate Eugène de Ligne , he represented Belgium at the coronation of Tsar Alexander II of Russia in 1855 .

He then entered the diplomatic service and worked as counselor and Minister Plenipotentiary. After his return to Belgium he became a member of the Senate in 1862 and represented the Arrondissement of Eeklo there until his death .

In 1864, with the help of his wife's assets, he acquired Ooidonk Castle as a family residence . The new owner commissioned the French architect Clément Parent with an extensive restoration of the castle from 1870 in order to adapt it to the increased demands on living comfort. The work essentially concentrated on the interior design, the exterior of the castle remained unchanged.

During his long term membership in the Senate, he was chairman of the Standing Committee on Mutual Insurance Companies from 1874, which laid the foundations for the insurance industry. In addition, he was a member of the committees for the interest and pension funds as well as for the general company for the promotion of industry. In his capacity as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, he was also the representative of Belgium at the world exhibitions in Paris in 1867 and in Vienna in 1873 .

Within the management of the Senate, he was first second secretary from 1870 to 1874 and then first secretary until 1884. After a year as second vice-president, he was first vice-president of the Senate between 1885 and 1892.

Henri t'Kint de Roodenbeke was last President of the Senate from April 26, 1892 to November 10, 1899.

On June 9, 1890, he was awarded the honorary title of Minister of State for his political services . In addition, he received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Leopold on September 29, 1894 . On June 26, 1900, a few months before his death, he was awarded the nobility title of Count.

His son Arnold was also an MP, Senator and President of the Senate.