| Achille Delattre | |
|---|---|
| |
| Prime Minister of Belgium | |
| In office 1947–1950 | |
| Monarch | Leopold III |
| Preceded by | August De Schryver |
| Succeeded by | Paul-Henri Spaak |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 August 1879 Pâturages, Belgium |
| Died | 13 July 1964 Pâturages, Belgium |
| Political party | Belgian Workers' Party Belgian Socialist Party |
Achille Delattre (24 August 1879 – 13 July 1964) was a Belgian politician and trade unionist who served as the Prime Minister of Belgium from 1947 to 1950. He is best remembered for the contribution to the reconstruction of Belgium after the Second World War.
Biography[]
Achille Delattre was born in Pâturages in Belgium on 24 August 1879. From very young age, he worked as a miner and after a short while working in journalism he became a trade unionist by 1914. He was a member of the Belgian Workers' Party since 1907 and was elected to the parliament in 1921 and the party national executive in 1922. From 1927 to 1934 he led the Miners' International Federation and after that he became the Minister of Labour of Belgium. From 1939, he served as mayor of Pâturages as well as vice-president of the BWP.
Delattre fled to France after the German invasion, but unlike other politicians, he returned to Belgium after the French surrender and became involved in the resistance, becoming a prominent leader of the socialist resistance movement. After the war, Delattre became a member of August De Schryver’s national unity government. As the leader of the refounded Belgian Socialist Party, Delattre opposed the return of King Leopold III, which caused a cabinet crisis in early 1947.
Delattre’s BSP came second in the 1947 election, but De Schryver’s Christian Social Party was unable to form a government and eventually Delattre was appointed formateur of the government by Prince Charles. Delattre formed a coalition with the Liberal Party and became the Prime Minister of Belgium in 1947. Delattre’s government focused on the reconstruction of Belgium after the war with American financial support and passed numerous economic and social reforms. The socialists and liberals, however, had a number of disagreements over the government policies. In 1948, a crisis regarding the Ministry of Justice and its decision on wartime economic collaboration, which resulted in Delattre’s resignation and formation of a new government under Paul-Henri Spaak. After his Prime Ministerial term, Delattre served as an ordinary minister until the end of the term in 1950 and then gradually stepped back from the party leadership, retiring from politics completely by 1955. He died on 13 July 1964 in his hometown of Pâturages.