Parti Ouvrier Belge
| President |
Emile Vandervelde Henri de Man |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | César De Paepe, Edward Anseele |
| Founded | 6 April 1885 |
| Dissolved | 28 June 1940 |
| Succeeded by | Belgian Socialist Party |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
| Newspaper | L'Avenir |
| Trade Union's wing | General Confederation of Labour of Belgium |
| Ideology | Democratic socialism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| International affiliation |
Second International (1889-1916) Labour and Socialist International (1923-40) |
| Colours | Red |
The Belgian Labour Party or Belgian Workers' Party (Dutch: Belgische Werkliedenpartij, BWP; French: Parti Ouvrier Belge, POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist Party in 1945.
In April 1885, a meeting of 112 workers took place in a room of the café De Zwaan on the Grand Place in Brussels, at the same place where the First International had convened, and where Karl Marx had written the Communist Manifesto. At this meeting the Belgian Labour Party (POB or BWP) was created. Several groups had been represented at this meeting, including the BSP of Edward Anseele. The members were mainly craftsmen and not workers from industrial centres (with the exception of Ghent). When drafting a programme for the new party, it was feared that a radical programme would deter workers. On that basis it was decided that the word socialism would not be mentioned in the name of the party, a point of view which was also defended by Cesar De Paepe (1841–1890).
The Charter of Quaregnon (located in this municipality and not in Mons because of the Garde Civique's 'fusillade of Mons'), of 1894 provided the doctrinal basis for the Belgian socialists from 1894 until 1979. Before 1919, the district system in Belgian elections made it almost impossible for the Labour Party to get parliamentary seats in Flanders, and the Ghent socialist leader, Edward Anseele, was elected in Liège. After 1919, universal male suffrage and proportional representation greatly enhanced the party's parliamentary strength and it participated in several governments.
...
Wikipedia