Charles Metz

Who was Charles Metz?

Charles Gérard Emmanuel Metz was a Luxembourgian politician, journalist, and lawyer. He was a prominent pro-Belgian in the Belgian Revolution, serving in the Belgian national legislature, before entering the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg, of which he was the first President, from 1848 to 1853.

Charles was born in Luxembourg City in 1799 to Jean Metz and Anne-Marie-Justine Gérard. He studied at the Athénée de Luxembourg and the lycée in Metz, France, before reading law at the newly established University of Liège, graduating in 1822. Metz first became politically active as a pro-Belgian spokesperson during the Belgian Revolution. In the National Congress called in Brussels, Metz was one of sixteen deputies representing the arrondissement of Luxembourg. In 1836, Metz moved to Arlon, where he established a newspaper, L'Echo de Luxembourg, to promote Luxembourgian and liberal interests, along with Emmanuel Servais and Victor Tesch.

In 1837, Metz was elected to the Chamber of Representatives, representing Grevenmacher until 1841. He urged the Belgians to enter negotiations with the Netherlands, but spoke against the Third Partition of Luxembourg, ultimately voting against the Treaty of London. In 1839, he stood for election to the Chamber of Representatives for Bastogne, but lost, remaining as representative of now-partitioned Grevenmacher.