Paul Louis Adrien Henri Hymans (Ixelles/Elsene, 23 March 1865 – Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

, March 8, 1941), was a Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 associated with the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (Belgium)

The Liberal Party was a Belgian political party that existed from 1846 until 1961, when it became the Party for Freedom and Progress, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès or PVV-PLP, under the leadership of Omer Vanaudenhove.-History:The Liberal Party was founded...

. He was the first President of the League of Nations

League of Nations

The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

, and served again as its president in 1932-33.

He became a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and professor at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Université Libre de Bruxelles

The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...

. As a politician he became Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1918 to 1920 (and again from 1927 to 1935), minister of justice from 1926 to 1927, and member of the council of ministers from 1935 to 1936. In 1919, together with Charles de Broqueville

Charles de Broqueville

Charles Marie Pierre Albert, Count de Broqueville was the 20th Prime Minister of Belgium, serving during World War I. He was born in Postel, Belgium. He was the leader of Belgium's Catholic Party, and he served as prime minister between 1911 and 1918...

 and Emile Vandervelde

Emile Vandervelde

thumb|upright|Emile VanderveldeEmile Vandervelde was a Belgian statesman, born at Ixelles. He studied law at the Free University of Brussels and became doctor of laws in 1885 and doctor of social science in 1888.-Activities:Vandervelde became a member of the Parti Ouvrier...

 he introduced universal suffrage

Universal suffrage

Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

 for all men (one man, one vote) and compulsory education

Compulsory education

Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all persons.-Antiquity to Medieval Era:Although Plato's The Republic is credited with having popularized the concept of compulsory education in Western intellectual thought, every parent in Judea since Moses's Covenant with...

.

After World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he represented Belgium at the 1919-1920 peace conference

Paris Peace Conference, 1919

The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...

. Paul Hymans helped form the customs union of Belgium and Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

 (Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union

Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union

The Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union , abbreviated to BLEU or UEBL, is an economic and monetary union between Belgium and Luxembourg, two countries in the Benelux economic union....

) in 1921 and played a leading part in negotiating the Dawes Plan

Dawes Plan

The Dawes Plan was an attempt in 1924, following World War I for the Triple Entente to collect war reparations debt from Germany...

 in 1924. In 1928, he signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact

Kellogg-Briand Pact

The Kellogg–Briand Pact was an agreement signed on August 27, 1928, by the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Weimar Germany and a number of other countries.The pact renounced war , prohibiting the use of war...

 for Belgium.

He was a freemason, and a member of the lodge Les Amis Philanthropes of the Grand Orient of Belgium

Grand Orient of Belgium

The Grand Orient of Belgium The Grand Orient of Belgium The Grand Orient of Belgium (French: Grand Orient de Belgique, Dutch: Grootoosten van Belgie (G.O.B.) is a Belgian cupola of masonic lodges which is only accessible for men, and works in the basic three symbolic degrees of freemasonry.-History:...

 in Brussels. Paul Hymans is interred in the Ixelles Cemetery

Ixelles Cemetery

The Ixelles Cemetery , located in Ixelles in the southern part of Brussels, is one of the major cemeteries in Belgium....

 in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

.

External links