Adolphe Max

Who was Adolphe Max?

Adolphe Eugène Jean Henri Max was a Belgian liberal politician and Mayor of Brussels from 1909 until his death.

He graduated in law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and entered the legal profession, besides doing journalistic work. When he was 25 years old, he was elected a province councillor for Brabant, and was elected a city councillor in 1903. After he had worked as a magistrate, he was appointed city mayor of Brussels on 6 December 1909.

During the German occupation of Brussels in the First World War, Max refused to cooperate with the occupying forces. As a result he was arrested and held in captivity, first at Namur, and then at Glatz, until he escaped on 13 November 1918. Charles Lemonnier was acting mayor during his captivity. On his return to Brussels he was greeted as a hero.

In 1919 he was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, where he campaigned for universal adult suffrage, a goal not achieved until after his death.