Louis Franck (politician)
| Louis Franck | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Louis Marie François Franck 28 November 1868 Antwerp, Belgium |
| Died | 31 December 1937 (aged 69) Wijnegem, Belgium |
| Nationality | Belgium |
| Occupation | politician, lawyer, statesman |
Louis Marie François Franck (28 November 1868 – 31 December 1937) was a Belgian lawyer, liberal politician and statesman.
He was born in Antwerp, and began his education at the Koninklijk Atheneum (E: Royal Atheneum) of Antwerp, where he was influenced by the Flemish writer and liberal politician Jan van Beers, and he obtained a law degree at the Free University of Brussels (now split into the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel). As a student, he was one of the co-founders of the secular humanist Cercle Universitaire (1887), he wrote for the Journal des Etudiants (1889) and in 1890 he was founder-President of the Cercle Universitaire de Criminologie.
In 1890, he set up practice as a lawyer in Antwerp and specialized himself in international marine law. As the president of the Conférence du Jeune Barreau (E: League of young lawyers) and as a member of the Vlaamse Conferentie der Balie (E: Flemish bar league), he wanted to promote the use of Dutch in court (which was in French in those days). In 1899, he was one of the co-founders of the Bond der Vlaamsche Rechtsgeleerden (E: League of Flemish lawyers), of which he became President in 1912.
In 1906, he put himself candidate as a member of the Belgian parliament, of which he would remain a member up to 1926. He strived for a gradual improvement of the usage of the Dutch language in Flanders, such as with the law Franck-Paul Segers on the usage of Dutch in secondary education in the public schools (1910). Since then he fought on the side of the Roman catholic Frans Van Cauwelaert and the socialist Camille Huysmans (together they were called the three crowing cocks) for the usage of Dutch at the University of Ghent. This brought him on the peak of its popularity in Flanders. In 1911, he was sworn in, as the candidate of the Antwerp liberal party, as a member of the municipal Council of Antwerp.
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