Lodewijk De Raet

Who was Lodewijk De Raet?

Lodewijk De Raet was a Flemish economist and politician. He played an important role in the Flemish movement. He was co-founder of the Vlaamsche volkspartij, and was a proponent of the use of Flemish instead of French at the University of Ghent in Flanders. He believed that the economic development of Flanders was necessary for the political and cultural strengthening of the region. His motto was: taalbelang is stoffelijk belang.

Already as a teenager in highschool Lodewijk De Raet showed a commitment for the Flemish cause. Together with August Vermeylen he started the illustrated magazine Jong Vlaanderen and he had been involved in the establishment of De Vlaamsche Wacht, an organization of Flemings in Brussels. In this organization Lodewijk De Raet developed his economic program for the development of Flanders. In the meantime he studied, thanks to the support of Emiel Blauwaert, a friend of its deceased father, at the École polytechnique of the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. Here he became a member of the student group Geen Taal Geen Vrijheid, and he was a member of the Femish liberal student organization.