Étienne Constantin de Gerlache

Étienne Constantin Baron de Gerlache ( born December 26, 1785 Biourge, today Bertrix, Luxembourg, † February 11, 1871 in Brussels) was a Belgian politician.

Gerlache studied law and was during the Napoleonic imperial era lawyer at the Supreme Court in Paris. After the union of Belgium with the Netherlands to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815 ), he served as the Council on Court of Appeal in Liege and wrote in this period some writings on the tax, customs and tradesmen essence of Belgium. In 1824 he became a member of the Second Chamber of the States General, where he was a leader of the Catholic opposition was characterized by eloquence and political views.

At the outbreak of the Revolution of 1830, he became a member of the Liège Safety Commission, then -President of the Commission, which was entrusted with drawing up a draft constitution. After Surlet de Chokier had been appointed regent of Belgium, he was elected as his successor as president of the National Congress. He stood at the head of the delegation, the antrug Prince Leopold of Saxe- Coburg, the Belgian crown, and took over as president of the House of Representatives of the new king the oath on the constitution from.

He was then in 1832 President of the Supreme Court of Belgium and was also the director of the Belgian Academy of Sciences and President of the Belgian history commission. In 1869 he retired. In ecclesiastical matters he was one of the representatives of the Belgian Ultramontanism.

Works

• Oeuvres completes. Groemaere, Brussels 1875

• Revolution de Liége sous Louis de Bourbon. Brussels 1831
• Souvenirs historiques du pays et de la principauté de Liége. Brussels 1825.