Belgian government in exile

Politically, Belgian politics had been dominated in the interwar period by the Catholic Party, usually in coalition with the Belgian Labour Party (POB-BWP) or the Liberal Party. The 1930s also saw the rise in popularity of Fascist parties within Belgium; most notably Rex which peaked at the 1936 election with 11% of the vote. From the early 1930s, Belgian foreign and domestic policy had been dominated by the policy of neutrality; leaving international treaties and alliances and attempting to maintain good diplomatic relations with Britain, France and Germany. Despite this policy, Belgium was invaded without warning by German forces on 10 May 1940. After 18 days of fighting, the Belgian military surrendered on 28 May and the country was placed under the control of a German military government. Between 600,000 and 650,000 Belgian men (nearly 20% of the country's male population) He remained a prisoner of the Germans, under house arrest, for the rest of the war. ==Establishment in London==

Refuge in France in London where the government was established in 1940 and remained until September 1944. The Belgian government in France had been intending to follow the French government of Paul Reynaud to France's overseas empire to continue the fight. The government was briefly established in Limoges where, under pressure from the French government, they denounced Leopold's surrender. However, when Reynaud was replaced by the pro-German Philippe Pétain, this plan was abandoned. The two waited for Paul-Henri Spaak and Pierlot, who had been detained in Francoist Spain en route from France, to join them. The British were distrustful of many of the Belgian ministers, as well as the size and legitimacy of the government itself. However, with the arrival of the Prime Minister, it was reluctantly accepted. The bulk of the Belgian government was installed in Eaton Square in the Belgravia area of London, which before the war had been the location of the Belgian Embassy. Other government departments were installed in nearby Hobart Place, Belgrave Square and Knightsbridge. The offices of the Belgian government were situated close to other governments-in-exile, including Luxembourg, in Wilton Crescent, and the Netherlands in Piccadilly. Approximately 30 members of the Belgian Parliament succeeded in escaping Belgium and took up residence in London and the Belgian Congo. By December 1940, the British recognized the "government of four" as the legal representation of Belgium, with the same status as the other governments in exile: ==Composition==

Initially numbering just four ministers, the government was soon joined by numerous others. The government in exile comprised both politicians and civil servants in a number of government departments. Most were focused in the Ministries of the Colonies, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Defence, but with skeleton staff in a number of others. "Government of Four" in Barcelona. Pierlot and Spaak escaped from the Spanish police in the hotel to come to Britain in the autumn of 1940. This is commemorated by a plaque on the building. Ministers without Portfolio , President of the Chamber in France, June 1940. He would spend the war away from the rest of the government, in New York City. Changes • 19 February 1942 • Julius Hoste (Liberal) becomes Undersecretary for Public Education. • Henri Rolin (POB-BWP) resigns as Undersecretary for Defence, in the aftermath of a minor mutiny in the Free Belgian forces. His role is assumed by Hubert Pierlot, who becomes Minister for National Defence in addition to his existing titles. • January 1943 • Arthur Vanderpoorten (Liberal), who had refused to follow the government to London, is apprehended by the Germans in France. He would later die in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. • 3 May 1943 • August de Schryver (Catholic) becomes Minister for Interior Affairs and Agriculture, after having served as Minister without Portfolio. • 6 April 1943 • August Balthazar (POB-BWP) becomes Minister for Public Works and Transport. • 16 July 1943 • Gustave Joassart (technical expert) resigns as Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare. • 3 September 1943 • Joseph Bondas (POB-BWP) becomes Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare. • Raoul Richard (technical expert) becomes Undersecretary for Supplies. • 30 March 1943 • Paul Tschoffen (Catholic) becomes Minister of State. • 6 June 1944 • Paul Tschoffen (Catholic) becomes Head of the Mission for Civil Affairs. ==Role==

The government in exile was expected to fulfill the functions of a national government, but also represent Belgian interest to the Allied powers, leading Paul-Henri Spaak to comment that "all that remains of legal and free Belgium, all that is entitled to speak in her name, is in London". The British diplomatic mission to Belgium, under Ambassador Lancelot Oliphant, was attached to the government in exile. The Soviet Union, which had broken off diplomatic relations with Belgium in May 1941 (heavily influenced by the then-in force Nazi-Soviet Pact), re-established its legation to the government in exile in the aftermath of the German invasion and eventually expanded it to the rank of Embassy in 1943. The refugees had originally been dealt with by the British government, however in September 1940, the government established a Central Service of Refugees to provide material assistance and employment for Belgians in Britain. The British public was exceptionally hostile to Belgian refugees in 1940, because of the belief that Belgium had betrayed the Allies in May 1940. A British Mass Observation report noted a "growing feeling against Belgian refugees" in the United Kingdom, closely linked to Leopold III's decision to surrender. The government was also involved in the provision of social, educational and cultural institutions to Belgian refugees. In 1942, the government sponsored the creation of the Belgian Institute in London to entertain the Belgian refugee community in London. Free Belgian forces in London, 1943. Van Strydonck had been made Baron for leading a cavalry charge in 1918. In a broadcast on French Radio, shortly after the Belgian surrender, Pierlot called for the creation of an army-in-exile to continue the fight: With some Belgian troops rescued from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo, as well as Belgian émigrés already living in England, the government in exile approved the creation of a (CMBR; "Belgian Military Camp for Regrouping") in Tenby, Wales. These soldiers were organized into the 1st Fusilier Battalion in August, and the government appointed Lieutenant-Generals Raoul Daufresne de la Chevalerie as commander, and Victor van Strydonck de Burkel as inspector-general of the new force. 28 Belgian airmen participated in the Battle of Britain and the Belgian government was later able to successfully lobby for the creation of two all-Belgian squadrons within the Royal Air Force as well as the creation of a Belgian section within the Royal Navy. For the first years of the war, a degree of tension existed between the government and the army, which divided its allegiance between government and King. The Free Belgian forces, particular the infantry who had been training since 1940, held the government responsible for not being allowed to fight. In November 1942, 12 Belgian soldiers mutinied, complaining about their inactivity. Treaties and negotiations . In September 1941, the Belgian government signed the Atlantic Charter in London alongside other governments in exile, presenting the common goals which the Allies sought to achieve after the war. A year later, the government signed the Declaration by United Nations in January 1942, with 26 other nations, which would set a precedent for the founding of the United Nations Organisation in 1945. From 1944, the Allies became increasingly concerned with laying the framework of post-war Europe. These were formalized through numerous treaties and agreements from 1944. In July 1944, Camille Gutt attended the Bretton Woods Conference in the United States on behalf of the Belgian government, establishing the Bretton Woods System of currency controls. During the negotiations, Gutt served as an important intermediary between the delegates of the major Allied powers. Through the agreements, the Belgian Franc's exchange rate would be tied to the American Dollar after the war, while the conference also established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of which Gutt would serve as the first director. In September 1944, the Belgian, the Netherlands and Luxembourgish governments in exile began formulating an agreement over the creation of a Benelux Customs Union. The agreement was signed in the London Customs Convention on 5 September 1944, just days before the Belgian government returned to Brussels after the liberation. The Benelux Customs Union was a major extension of a pre-war union between Belgium and Luxembourg, and would later form the basis of the Benelux Economic Union after 1958. ==Authority==

Unlike many other governments in exile, which were forced to rely exclusively on financial support from the Allies, the Belgian government in exile could fund itself independently. In large part, this was due to the fact that the government in exile retained control of most of the Belgian national gold reserves. These had been moved secretly to Britain in May 1940 aboard the naval trawler A4, and provided an important asset. The Belgian government was also in control of the Belgian Congo, which exported large amounts of raw materials (including rubber, gold and uranium) which the Allies relied on for the war effort. ==Stances==

Relations with Leopold III , photographed in 1934, chose to remain in Belgium as a prisoner rather than follow his government into exile Despite being a constitutional monarch, the King of the Belgians had occupied an important political role within Belgium before the war. The decision of Leopold III to surrender to the Germans – without consulting his own ministers – outraged the Belgian cabinet. According to the Constitution of 1831, the Belgian government was allowed to override the wishes of the King if he had been declared incompetent to reign. The government, however, refused to declare a republic. On the return to Belgium, the issue of the monarch remained contentious and on 20 September 1944, shortly after the liberation, Leopold's brother Prince Charles, Count of Flanders was declared prince regent. Relations with the Resistance The government of Jaspar-Huysmans called for the creation of organized resistance in occupied Belgium from London, even before the French surrender in 1940. The official government, after arriving in London, managed to obtain control over the French and Dutch language radio broadcasts to occupied Belgium, broadcast by the BBC's . The radio station was essential for keeping the resistance and public alike informed, and was placed under the control of the journalist Paul Lévy. Amongst those working in the radio was Victor de Laveleye, a former government minister who worked as a newsreader, who is credited for inventing the "V for Victory" campaign. Despite this, the resistance was frequently reliant on finance, equipment and supplies which only the government in exile and the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) were able to provide. During the course of the war, the government in exile delivered 124–245 million francs, either dropped by parachute or transferred via bank accounts in neutral Portugal, to the alone. Smaller sums were distributed to other organisations. However, the committee was rendered redundant by the liberation in September. ==Return to Belgium==

Allied troops entered Belgium on 2 September 1944. On 3 September, the Guards Armoured Division liberated the capital, Brussels. The government in exile returned to Brussels on 8 September 1944. "Operation Gutt", a plan devised by Camille Gutt to avoid rampant inflation in liberated Belgium by limiting the money supply, was put into action with great success. On 26 September, Pierlot formed a new government of national unity (Pierlot V) in Brussels. The new government included many of the ministers (including all of the "four") from London, but for the first time also included the Communists. In December 1944, a new triparate government was formed, with Pierlot still as Prime Minister. In February 1945, having been Prime Minister since 1939, Pierlot was finally replaced by the Socialist, Achille Van Acker. The government in exile was one of the last governments in which the traditional parties which had dominated Belgium since its creation were still present. In 1945, the POB-BWP changed its name to the Belgian Socialist Party (PSB-BSP) and the Catholic Party became the Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP). ==See also==