Gérard Cooreman

Who was Gérard Cooreman?

Gérard François Marie Cooreman was a Belgian Catholic Party politician.

Born in Ghent, Cooreman was trained in law, and practised as a lawyer, but was more active as a businessman and financier, and became involved with Catholic social groups.

In 1892 Cooreman was elected to the Belgian Senate, and from 1898 to 1914 he represented Ghent in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, holding the position of leader of the Chamber from 1908 to 1912.

He held office as Labour and Industry minister for a short time in 1899, and on the fall of Frans Schollaert's government in 1911 he was asked to become the 21st Prime Minister of Belgium and form the new government, but declined. He was appointed an honorary Minister of State in 1912 and left politics in 1914 to become a director of the Société Générale de Belgique.

During the First World War, Cooreman followed the Belgian government into exile at Le Havre. On the fall of Charles de Broqueville, King Albert I of Belgium appointed Cooreman to lead a new government on 1 June 1918. With the end of the war in November 1918, Cooreman resigned as Prime Minister.