Barthélemy de Theux de Meylandt – Wikipedia
Barthélemy-Théodore Comte de Theux de Meylandt is a Belgian politician of Catholic trend. Descendant of the family of Theux de Meylandt and Montjardin, he was the son of the knight Joseph-Mathieu-Jacques and Marie-Antoinette-Joseph de Wezeren. Born in the castle of Schabroek in Saint-Trond le , he died in Heusden, at the Château de Meylandt .
When Barthélemy de Theux de Meylandt obtained in 1816 his doctorate in law at the Law School of Brussels, Belgium had been united for a year in the Netherlands in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, led by the House of Orange-Nassau , in the person of Protestant Guillaume I is .
He kissed the profession of a lawyer and became of Merode’s family in particular in Félix, one of the main figures of the ‘Catholic Party’. With him, he took part, in Liège and in Limburg, in the political agitation which developed from 1829 in the form of the “movement of petitions for the recovery of injustices” [ first ] .
His career only began with the start of the Belgian Revolution of 1830 and the proclamation of the country’s independence in November 1830. He was then elected deputy of Hasselt at the National Congress [ 2 ] .
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He quickly stood out for his violent positions against the house of Orange-Nassau, in favor of the adoption of a constitutional monarchy and the bicameral system and also, faithful to the ‘Catholic’ program, of the total independence of the clergy in relation to the state and greater freedom of education.
Once the Congress developed the Belgian Constitution [ 3 ] , we had to elect a monarch. This choice was decisive since the vast majority of deputies preferred a French monarch, such a choice would have greatly displeased in the United Kingdom.
Such tensions were likely to undermine the international consensus on the creation of the new kingdom. Meylandt therefore chooses to oppose the election of the Duke of Nemours, second son of Louis-Philippe I is by the congress the .
The Duke of Nemours refused the crown because of the British opposition. In response to the short moment of uncertainty which followed, the Congress reacts by electing a regent him . The main candidates for this election were the president of the Erasmo-Louis Surlet de Chokier assembly, clearly pro-French, and Félix de Mérode, more balanced. Meylandt naturally supported the candidacy of Félix de Merode but the latter was beaten [ 4 ] .
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Chokier’s Surlet position was however intended to butter against British intransigence. Thus Meylandt was able to recover a central political role by supporting, like Félix de Mérode, the candidacy of Léopold de Saxe-Cobourg and Gotha who was elected sovereign the . On July 9, he also supported the vote of the 18th century Treaty negotiated by the new monarch.
The creation phase of the new kingdom then ended and the congress was dissolved. Elections for the two new chambers had to be held, but the delicate constitutional process was interrupted by Guillaume I is . The King of the Netherlands returning to his initial decision launched on August 2 an invasion known as the seventeen campaign. The Belgian army was defeated but the Bataves, already en route to Brussels, stopped when they reached the news of the intervention of a French expeditionary force, led by Marshal Gérard.
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Minister of the Interior in the Government of Muelenaere [ modifier | Modifier and code ]
Meylandt became Minister of the Interior in 1831-1832, in the government of Félix de Muelenaere. The king then appealed to him to form a government, after the government led by Charles Rogier has resigned following a disagreement between Rogier and Evain.
He therefore formed a Unionist cabinet, with Félix de Muelenaere (Catholic) for Foreign Affairs, Édouard d’Huart in finances, Félix de Merode remaining minister without portfolio. In addition, he collaborates with the illustrious Lucien and Mathieu to save the nation during the dark hours. He himself takes care of the interior and achieves municipal and provincial laws, which left little autonomy to local powers (unlike Rogier’s intentions).
It was in March 1838 that the XXIV articles was learned was ratified by the Netherlands. Sylvain Van de Weyer, Ambassador to London, and Charles the Hon Ambassador to Paris confirm the bad news. The King then sends Jules Van Praet, then Etienne de Gerlache in London to negotiate, but nothing helped: the powers demanded from Belgium that it renders Limburg and Luxembourg. The Count of Theux ends up accepting this reality, but his cabinet is divided, some ministers being ready to yield only under a military threat. The latter will eventually resign. The only concession in Belgium, the London conference accepts that the share of Belgium in the debt of the Netherlands is lowered to 5,400 million guilders instead of 8,400 million. The remaining ministers, from Theux, Nothomb and Willmar, then defend alone before the chambers the ratification of the XXIV Treaty, which they finally obtained, by 58 votes to 42. In April 1840, the government was overthrown by Parliament. In 1846, he reformed a new government bringing together Catholics and liberals. As the Liberals refuse, he trained a government exclusively made up of Catholics but applying a unionist policy. In 1847, this government withdrew. He was still chief of the executive in 1871-1874, but Jules Malou was the effective leader.
He was appointed Minister of State (Belgium).
- Ch. Verlinden, “The national biography of Belgium”, volume 24, 1926-1929 cited on www.unionisme.be [www.unionisme.be /de_heux_barthelemy.htm]
- He took the post of the count of Arschot, who had preferred the district of Brussels. Cf.:www.unionisme.be,op.cit ..
- still in force despite multiple and profound transformations
- With 108 votes out of 156 against 43 for de Merode
Bibliography [ modifier | Modifier and code ]
- The Count of Theux, in: Théodore just, National Pantheon (1830-1880) , Hector Manceaux (Mons), 1881, pp. 127–132.
- Baudouin de Theux, Count Barthelemy de Theux de Meylandt (1794-1874), a 19th century politician, pioneer of the independence of Belgium , LXXI collection of the genealogical and heraldic office of Belgium, 2019, 208 p.
- Barthélemy Théodore Graaf de Theux de Meylandt (Sint -Truiden 1794 – Heusden 1874) – A great statesman , Heemkundige Kring, Heusden, 1975
external links [ modifier | Modifier and code ]
- Resource relating to several areas :
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Notes in generalist dictionaries or encyclopedias :
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