Editing Paul van Zeeland

{{Short description|Belgian lawyer, economist, Catholic politician and statesman}}
{{Family name hatnote|van Zeeland|Zeeland}}

{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Paul van Zeeland
| image               = Paul van Zeeland (1-E-1585) (cropped).jpg
| office              = [[Prime Minister of Belgium]]
| monarch             = [[Leopold III of Belgium|Leopold III]]
| term_start          = 25 March 1935
| term_end            = 23 November 1937
| predecessor         = [[Georges Theunis]]
| successor           = [[Paul-Emile Janson]]
| birth_name          = Paul Guillaume van Zeeland
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1893|11|11|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Soignies]], Belgium
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1973|9|22|1893|11|11|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[City of Brussels]], Belgium
| party               = [[Catholic Party (Belgium)|Catholic Party]]
| caption             = Van Zeeland in 1937
}}
'''Paul Guillaume, Viscount van Zeeland''' (11 November 1893 – 22 September 1973) was a Belgian lawyer, economist, Catholic politician and statesman who served as [[Prime Minister of Belgium]] from 1935 to 1937.

==Biography==
van Zeeland was born in [[Soignies]]. He was a professor of law and later director of the Institute of Economic Science at the [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven]] ([[Leuven]]), and vice-governor of the [[National Bank of Belgium]].

In March 1935, he became the [[List of Prime Ministers of Belgium|Prime Minister]] of a government of national unity (a coalition comprising the three major parties: [[Catholic Party (Belgium)|Catholics]], [[Liberal Party (Belgium)|Liberals]] and [[Belgian Labour Party|Socialists]]). Given decree powers, he abated a national economic crisis by devaluing the currency and implementing expansive budgetary policies.

van Zeeland's government resigned in the spring of 1936 due to the agitation of [[Rexism]], a Belgian fascist movement. On 24 May 1936, [[1936 Belgian general election|general elections]] were held. The Labour party won 70 of 202 seats (minus 3), Zeeland's [[Catholic Party (Belgium)|Catholic Party]] 61 seats (minus 18) and the new Rexists 21 seats. Van Zeeland continued as Prime Minister leading a government of national unity, composed of the three major parties (Catholics, Socialists and Liberals).

On 2 June 1936, a [[wildcat strike]] among dockworkers in the [[Port of Antwerp]] broke out and quickly spread to other industrial regions without the endorsement of the country's major trades unions. It was characterised by the new tactic of [[Occupation of factories|workplace occupations]]. The [[Belgian general strike of 1936|Belgian strike]] was unusual in uniting socialist and Catholic trade union federations in support. van Zeeland agreed to convene a "National Labour Conference" (''Conférence Nationale du Travail'') on 17 June 1936 to bring together trade union and company representatives. It brokered a compromise agreement including the introduction of a legal [[minimum wage]], six days' [[paid holidays]], and a maximum 40-hour working week for workers in particular industrial occupations. The strike formally ended on 2 July 1936. 

Several other reforms affecting labour were carried out during the course of van Zeeland's premiership.<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE I.L.O YEAR-BOOK 1936-37 |url=https://webapps.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09614/09614(1936-1937).pdf |website=ilo.org |pages=158, 164, 181, 183, 197, 227, 228, 302, 303, 312, 329, 340, 354, 366, 435, 436}}</ref>

After proclaiming martial law, his second government suppressed the Rexists. It introduced measures against unemployment, which helped ease the political tensions. Also during his second term, Belgium gave up its military alliance with [[France]] and reverted to its traditional policy of [[Neutral country|neutrality]], now dubbed a "policy of independence".

In spring 1937, Rexist leader [[Léon Degrelle]] accused van Zeeland of having received money from the Belgian Nation Bank. van Zeeland denied this, but a commission found out he had received 330.000 [[Belgian franc|bfr]].<ref>For details, see [[:fr:Paul Van Zeeland|Van Zeeland contre Degrelle]]</ref> He resigned as Prime Minister on 23 November, and the king named [[Paul-Emile Janson]] as his successor.

In 1939, van Zeeland became president of the ''Committee on Refugees'', established in [[London]], and was made High Commissioner for repatriating displaced Belgians in 1944. He was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1942.<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Paul+van+Zeeland&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> In 1946, he was one of the founders of the [[European League for Economic Cooperation]].

After the war, van Zeeland served as [[List of foreign ministers of Belgium|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] in several Catholic governments between 1949 and 1954 and as economic advisor to the Belgian government and to the council of ministers of the [[NATO|North Atlantic Treaty Organisation]]. He was Honorary Secretary General of the Steering Committee of the [[Bilderberg meeting]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/former-steering-committee-members.html|title=Former Steering Committee Members |work=bilderbergmeetings.org |publisher=[[Bilderberg Group]] |access-date=2014-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202095633/http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/former-steering-committee-members.html|archive-date=2 February 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1956, he finally retired from politics and became chairman of the [[Banque Belge d'Afrique]].

In 2013, to the consternation of his family, it was discovered that he had founded a Panamanian [[offshore company]] in 1946.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/offshore-leaks-kleindochter-oud-premier-van-zeeland-zet-stap-opzij-op-kabinet-milquet~b307b0b9/ |title=Offshore Leaks: Kleindochter oud-premier Van Zeeland zet stap opzij op kabinet-Milquet|trans-title= Offshore Leaks: Granddaughter of former prime ministers Van Zeeland resigns from Cabinet Milquet |work= [[De Morgen]]|date= 13 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Van Malderen |first1=Sven |title=Belgische ex-premier had vennootschap in Panama |trans-title=Former Belgian prime minister had a company in Panama|url=https://www.hln.be/binnenland/belgische-ex-premier-had-vennootschap-in-panama~a260732b |access-date=2 September 2023 |work=[[Het Laatste Nieuws]] |date=13 April 2013}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Belgian general strike of 1936]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Dujardin |first1=Vincent |last2=Dumoulin |first2=Michel |title=Paul van Zeeland, 1893-1973 |date=1997 |publisher=Éditions Racine |location=Brussels |isbn=2873861142}}

==External links==
* {{PM20|FID=pe/042398}}
* [http://www.odis.be/lnk/en/PS_4787 Paul van Zeeland] in [https://www.odis.eu ODIS – Online Database for Intermediary Structures]
{{commons category}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Georges Theunis]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Belgium]]|years=1935–1937}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Paul-Emile Janson]]}}
|-
{{s-dip}}
{{s-new|office}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[European League for Economic Cooperation]]|years=1946–1949}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pieter Kerstens]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{BelgianPrimeMinisters}}

{{Authority control}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeeland, Paul Van}}
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]
[[Category:Belgian economists]]
[[Category:20th-century Belgian lawyers]]
[[Category:Ministers of state of Belgium]]
[[Category:Foreign ministers of Belgium]]
[[Category:Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Belgium]]
[[Category:People from Soignies]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]