Charles de Brouckère

Who was Charles de Brouckère?

Jonkheer Charles Joseph Marie Ghislain de Brouckère was a Belgian nobleman and liberal politician.

Born in Bruges, elder brother of future Prime Minister of Belgium Henri de Brouckère, Charles entered politics in the period when modern Belgium formed the southern part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. He worked as a banker in Maastricht and served as a representative for the province of Limburg in the Second Chamber of parliament.

During the Belgian Revolution of 1830, De Brouckère was among the francophile, francophone party which favoured annexation by France.

In the newly independent Belgium he served as Finance minister, Interior minister, and War minister, for short periods in 1831.

He taught as a professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and in 1848 became mayor of Brussels, a post he held continuously until his death. He was responsible for major urban renewal in the city, including the creation of water mains and the creation of the first boulevards in Brussels.

The Place de Brouckère, and De Brouckère station, in central Brussels are named after him.