Chairman of the International Socialist Bureau who led the Second International and joined Belgium’s wartime government in 1914
A leader of the Belgian Labour Party and a jurist, he chaired the International Socialist Bureau from 1900 and became the face of the Second International. When Germany invaded neutral Belgium in August 1914 he entered the government as minister of state and backed national defence, trying to hold the Bureau together against the Zimmerwald movement. After the war he served as justice and foreign minister, signing the Locarno treaties in 1925, and chaired the Labour and Socialist International from 1923.
Related historical events
- 1914–1918First World WarSocialist minister in Belgium's wartime governmentAfter Germany invaded Belgium in August 1914, he entered the government as minister of state and backed national defence.
- 1907–1919The collapse of the Second InternationalChairman of the International Socialist BureauLed the International and joined the Belgian government in 1914.