Paul-Emile Janson was a Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 politician.

Born in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, Janson was the son of liberal statesman Paul Janson

Paul Janson

Paul Janson was a Belgian liberal politician.Born in Herstal, Janson studied philosophy and law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. From an early age he was a strong supporter of electoral reform and stood on the progressive wing of the Belgian liberal movement...

 (died 1913). He studied law at the Free University of Brussels (now split into the Université Libre de Bruxelles

Université Libre de Bruxelles

The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...

 and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...

), practised as a lawyer, and also taught at the university. Janson was elected as a liberal to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 1910. He held various minister posts including War, Justice and Foreign affairs. He was made an honorary Minister of State

Minister of State

Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...

 in 1931.

He served as the 30th Prime Minister of Belgium in 1937–1938. In the early part of the Second World War, Janson served as Foreign minister, and as minister with portfolio, in the government of Hubert Pierlot

Hubert Pierlot

Hubert Marie Eugène, Count Pierlot was a Belgian Walloon politician and jurist, the 32nd Prime Minister of Belgium between 1939 and 1945 .-Biography:He was a representative of the Catholic Party Hubert Marie Eugène, Count Pierlot (23 December 1883, Cugnon (Bertrix) – 13 December 1963, Uccle)...

. He remained in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 when the government in exile moved to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. In 1943 he was detained by the occupying German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 forces and incarcerated in the Buchenwald concentration camp

Buchenwald concentration camp

Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...

. He died there in 1944.

Marie Janson

Marie Janson

Marie Janson was a Belgian politician and the first woman to serve in the Belgian senate. She was a daughter of Paul Janson and Anna-Augustine Amoré....

, the first woman to be elected to the Chamber of Representatives in 1921, the mother of Paul-Henri Spaak

Paul-Henri Spaak

Paul Henri Charles Spaak was a Belgian Socialist politician and statesman.-Early life:Paul-Henri Spaak was born on 25 January 1899 in Schaerbeek, Belgium, to a distinguished Belgian family. His grandfather, Paul Janson was an important member of the Liberal Party...

, was his sister.

Sources

• Paul-Emile Janson (Dutch)
• Paul-Emile Janson (Dutch)
• D'Ydewalle, Ch., Silhouettes politiques : Paul-Emile Janson, in : Revue Générale, LXII, 1929, p. 86-90.
• Miroir, A., in : Parisel, W., Histoire de La Loge Les Vrais amis de l'Union et du Progrès Réunis 1892-1980, Brussel, 1980, p. 283-285.
• Stengers, J., Paul-Emile Janson, in : Académie Royale de Belgique, Bulletin de la Commission des Lettres et des Sciences Morales et Politiques, 5e série, LIX, 1973–1976, p. 202-281.

See also

• Liberal Party
  Liberal Party (Belgium)
  The Liberal Party was a Belgian political party that existed from 1846 until 1961, when it became the Party for Freedom and Progress, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès or PVV-PLP, under the leadership of Omer Vanaudenhove.-History:The Liberal Party was founded...