15 Facts About Marcel-Henri Jaspar

Marcel-Henri Jaspar, was a Belgian lawyer, politician, and later diplomat.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar is best known for his unsuccessful attempt with Camille Huysmans and others to establish an unrecognised Belgian government in London in 1940 during World War II.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar held ministerial appointments in the coalition governments of Paul Van Zeeland and Hubert Pierlot, latterly during the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar continued in the diplomatic service after the war, his career culminating in the prestigious posting of Ambassador in France.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar was born in Schaerbeek, a suburb of Brussels, on 23 June 1901.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar graduated from the University of Paris in 1918 and gained a doctorate in law at the Free University of Brussels in 1923.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar practised briefly as a lawyer at the Court of Appeal in Brussels, and subsequently published a study on Belgian company law.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar became involved in liberal politics in 1921, influenced by his exposure to French liberal ideas.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar became a member of the Liberal Party and was mentored by Albert Deveze, a liberal statesman.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar rose through the ranks of the party's youth wing, the Jeunesses Liberales, and became head of their movement in Brussels by 1923.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar quickly gained a reputation as one of leading figures in the party's "Young Turks" faction who emphasized the need for social reform besides the traditional liberal economic agenda of laissez-faire.

In London, Marcel-Henri Jaspar was joined by other left-wing politicians, many of them radicals, such as Camille Huysmans, Max Buset, and Isabelle Blume.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar held the post until his retirement in 1968, a term that coincided with the presidency of Charles de Gaulle and the Algerian War.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar wrote a biography of Pitt the Elder while in London.

Marcel-Henri Jaspar published two volumes of memoirs and his personal papers are preserved at the Belgium's State Archives.