The
BelgianThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
National Congress was a temporary legislative assembly in 1830, established shortly after the
Provisional Government of BelgiumThe Provisional Government was formed as a revolutionary committee of notables during the Belgian Revolution on September 24, 1830 at the Brussels City Hall under the name of Administrative Commission....
had proclaimed
Belgian independenceThe Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the Southern provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. Much of the population of the south were Catholic, French-speaking, or liberals who regarded King William...
on October 4 of that year. Its primary task was to create a
constitutionA constitution is a set of rules for government—often codified as a written document—that establishes principles of an autonomous political entity. In the case of countries, this term refers specifically to a national constitution defining the fundamental political principles, and establishing the...
for the newly formed state.
The National Congress was elected by approximately 30,000 voters on November 3 1830 and consisted of 200 members. Its president was Baron
Erasme Louis Surlet de ChokierErasme Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier , born in Gingelom, was a Belgian politician and before the accession of Leopold I to the Belgian throne, was the first Regent of Belgium....
.
The assembly chose a
constitutionalA constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written , unwritten or blended constitution...
popular monarchyPopular monarchy is a system of monarchical governance in which the monarch's title is linked with the people rather than a unitary state. It was the norm in some places from the Middle Ages, and was occasionally used in 19th- and 20th-century Europe, often reflecting the results of a populist...
as the
form of governmentA form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized in order to exert its powers over a body politic. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government"...
for Belgium and chose the son of the
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
king Louis-Philippe,
Louis, Duke of NemoursLouis Charles Philippe Raphael d'Orléans, duc de Nemours was the second son of the duc d'Orleans, afterwards King Louis-Philippe of France, and his wife Marie Amalie of Bourbon-Sicilies, duchesse d'Orléans then Queen of the French...
, as the new head of state.
The
BelgianThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
National Congress was a temporary legislative assembly in 1830, established shortly after the
Provisional Government of BelgiumThe Provisional Government was formed as a revolutionary committee of notables during the Belgian Revolution on September 24, 1830 at the Brussels City Hall under the name of Administrative Commission....
had proclaimed
Belgian independenceThe Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the Southern provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. Much of the population of the south were Catholic, French-speaking, or liberals who regarded King William...
on October 4 of that year. Its primary task was to create a
constitutionA constitution is a set of rules for government—often codified as a written document—that establishes principles of an autonomous political entity. In the case of countries, this term refers specifically to a national constitution defining the fundamental political principles, and establishing the...
for the newly formed state.
The National Congress was elected by approximately 30,000 voters on November 3 1830 and consisted of 200 members. Its president was Baron
Erasme Louis Surlet de ChokierErasme Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier , born in Gingelom, was a Belgian politician and before the accession of Leopold I to the Belgian throne, was the first Regent of Belgium....
.
The assembly chose a
constitutionalA constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written , unwritten or blended constitution...
popular monarchyPopular monarchy is a system of monarchical governance in which the monarch's title is linked with the people rather than a unitary state. It was the norm in some places from the Middle Ages, and was occasionally used in 19th- and 20th-century Europe, often reflecting the results of a populist...
as the
form of governmentA form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized in order to exert its powers over a body politic. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government"...
for Belgium and chose the son of the
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
king Louis-Philippe,
Louis, Duke of NemoursLouis Charles Philippe Raphael d'Orléans, duc de Nemours was the second son of the duc d'Orleans, afterwards King Louis-Philippe of France, and his wife Marie Amalie of Bourbon-Sicilies, duchesse d'Orléans then Queen of the French...
, as the new head of state. Other candidates included
Auguste de BeauharnaisAuguste Charles Eugène Napoléon de Beauharnais, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg was the first Prince consort of Maria II of Portugal.-Family:...
and
Archduke Charles of AustriaArchduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
, the last
Governor-GeneralThe Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands ruled the Habsburg Netherlands, as a representative of the Duke of Burgundy , the King of Spain or the Archduke of Austria , all from the house of Habsburg.- Habsburg Netherlands :...
of the
Austrian NetherlandsThe Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and captured by France...
. The choice of
Louis, Duke of NemoursLouis Charles Philippe Raphael d'Orléans, duc de Nemours was the second son of the duc d'Orleans, afterwards King Louis-Philippe of France, and his wife Marie Amalie of Bourbon-Sicilies, duchesse d'Orléans then Queen of the French...
, was unacceptable to the government of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and another candidate had to be found. Baron Surlet de Chokier was appointed
RegentA regent, from the Latin regens "reigning", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Thus, the common use is for an acting deputy governor....
while awaiting a new decision and was replaced as president of the National Congress by
Etienne Constantin, Baron de GerlacheEtienne Constantin, Baron de Gerlache was a lawyer and politician in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and later became in 1831 the first Prime Minister of the newly founded Belgian state....
.
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and GothaLeopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
was definitively chosen to become the first King of the Belgians. The National Congress appointed him king on June 4 and six weeks later he was sworn in by swearing allegiance to the Belgian constitution in front of the Sint Jacobs Church at Coudenbergh Place in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
. This day (July 21) has since been the National holiday for Belgium.
The
Constitution of BelgiumThe Constitution of Belgium dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility for the government policy and the Trias Politica. The Constitution established Belgium as a centralised unitary state...
, which was very progressive for its time, was accepted on February 7 1831. The Provisional Government was subsequently dismantled. The National Congress itself remained in place until the official elections of a first Parliament on September 8 1831. A monument in Brussels, the
Congress ColumnThe Congress Column is a monument situated on the Place du Congrès / Congresplein in Brussels. It commemorates the formation of the Belgian state and constitution by the National Congress in 1830-1831. It was erected on the initiative of Charles Rogier after a design by Joseph Poelaert between...
, was erected in its honour. On the base of the Congress-column, there are four bronze statues that represent the four basic freedoms enshrined in the Belgian Constitution of 1831: freedom of
religionFreedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
,
associationFreedom of association is the individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests....
,
educationFreedom of education refers to the right of any person to manage their own education, start a school, or to have access to the education of their choice without any constraints....
and
the pressFreedom of the press consists ofconstitutional or statutory protections pertaining to the media and published materials.With respect to governmental information, any government distinguishes which materials are public or protected from disclosure to the public based on classification of information...
.
These four basic freedoms are also reflected in the streets of
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
. There are four streets that lead to the
Place de la Liberté/Vrijheidsplein (Freedom Square): the
Rue des Cultes/Eredienststraat (Religion Street), the
Rue de l'Association/Verenigingsstraat (Association Street), the
Rue de l'Enseignement/Onderrichtstraat (Education Street) and the
Rue de la Presse/Drukpersstraat (Press Street).