The Belgian Government in London (; ), also known as the Pierlot IV Government, was the government in exile of Belgium between October 1940 and September 1944 during World War II. The government was tripartite, involving ministers from the Catholic, Liberal and Labour Parties. After the invasion of Belgium by Nazi Germany in May 1940, the Belgian government, under Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot, fled first to Bordeaux in France and then to London, where it established itself as the only legitimate representation of Belgium to the Allies.

Despite no longer having authority in its own country, the government administered the Belgian Congo and held negotiations with other Allied powers about post-war reconstruction. Agreements made by the government in exile during the war included the foundation of the Benelux Customs Union and Belgium's admission into the United Nations. The government also exercised influence within the Belgian army-in-exile and attempted to maintain links with the underground resistance.

Background

Politically, Belgian politics had been dominated in the interwar period by the Catholic Party, usually in coalition with the Belgian Labour Party (POB-BWP) or the Liberal Party. The 1930s also saw the rise in popularity of Fascist parties within Belgium; most notably Rex which peaked at the 1936 election with 11% of the vote. From the early 1930s, Belgian foreign and domestic policy had been dominated by the policy of neutrality; leaving international treaties and alliances and attempting to maintain good diplomatic relations with Britain, France and Germany.

Despite this policy, Belgium was invaded without warning by German forces on 10 May 1940. After 18 days of fighting, the Belgian military surrendered on 28 May and the country was placed under the control of a German military government. Between 600,000 and 650,000 Belgian men (nearly 20% of the country's male population) had been mobilized to fight.

Unlike the Netherlands or Luxembourg, whose monarchies went into exile alongside the government, King Leopold III, whose mother was German, surrendered to the Germans alongside his army – contrary to the advice of his government. In the days before his surrender, he allegedly attempted to form a new government under the pro-Nazi socialist Henri de Man though this was never realized. He remained a prisoner of the Germans, under house arrest, for the rest of the war. Although the government briefly attempted to negotiate with the German authorities from exile in France, the German authorities passed a decree forbidding members of the Belgian government returning to the country and the talks were abandoned.

Establishment in London Refuge in France

The Belgian government in France had been intending to follow the French government of Paul Reynaud to France's overseas empire to continue the fight. Meanwhile, Germany appointed General Alexander von Falkenhausen, an aristocrat and career soldier, as military governor of Belgium. The government was briefly established in Limoges where, under pressure from the French government, they denounced Leopold's surrender. However, when Reynaud was replaced by the pro-German Philippe Pétain, this plan was abandoned. Despite hostility from the new Vichy regime, the Pierlot government remained in France. On 16 September 1940, Vichy demanded the disbandment of the Belgian government, still at that time in Bordeaux:

Move to London While the government under Pierlot was still in France, the Belgian Minister of Health, Marcel-Henri Jaspar, arrived in London on 21 June. Jaspar believed that the Pierlot government intended to surrender to the Germans, and was determined to prevent it. Jaspar held talks with Charles De Gaulle, and on 23 June gave a speech on BBC radio, in which he stated that he was personally forming an alternative government to continue the fight. His stance was condemned by the Pierlot government in Bordeaux, and he was received coldly by the Belgian ambassador in London, Emile de Cartier de Marchienne. Jaspar, joined by the Socialist burgomaster of Antwerp Camille Huysmans, along with other so-called "London Rebels" formed their own government on 5 July 1940. The British, however, were reluctant to recognize the Jaspar-Huysmans Government.

The challenge to the Pierlot government's authority spurred it into action. Albert de Vleeschauwer, Pierlot's Minister of the Colonies, arrived in London on the same day as the Jaspar-Huysmans government was formed. As the only Belgian minister with legal power outside Belgium itself, De Vleeschauwer, together with Camille Gutt who arrived soon after, on his own initiative, was able to form a temporary "Government of Two" with British approval in London. Gutt politically marginalised De Vleeschauwer, and thereafter he acted as only a minor figure in the government. The two waited for Paul-Henri Spaak and Pierlot, who had been detained in Francoist Spain en route from France, to join them. Pierlot and Spaak reached London on 22 October 1940, marking the start of the period of the "Government of Four", providing the "official" government with the legitimacy of Belgium's last elected Prime Minister. The British were distrustful of many of the Belgian ministers, as well as the size and legitimacy of the government itself. However, with the arrival of the Prime Minister, it was reluctantly accepted.

The bulk of the Belgian government was installed in Eaton Square in the Belgravia area of London, which before the war had been the location of the Belgian Embassy. Other government departments were installed in nearby Hobart Place, Belgrave Square and Knightsbridge. The offices of the Belgian government were situated close to other governments-in-exile, including Luxembourg, in Wilton Crescent, and the Netherlands in Piccadilly. Approximately 30 members of the Belgian Parliament succeeded in escaping Belgium and took up residence in London and the Belgian Congo.

By December 1940, the British recognized the "government of four" as the legal representation of Belgium, with the same status as the other governments in exile:

Composition Initially numbering just four ministers, the government was soon joined by numerous others. The government in exile comprised both politicians and civil servants in a number of government departments. Most were focused in the Ministries of the Colonies, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Defence, but with skeleton staff in a number of others. By May 1941, there were nearly 750 people working in the government in London in all capacities.

"Government of Four"

PortfolioNamePartyPrime Minister – Public Education and DefenceHubert PierlotCatholicForeign Affairs, Information and PropagandaPaul-Henri SpaakPOB-BWPFinancial and Economic AffairsCamille GuttNone (technical expert)Colonies and JusticeAlbert de VleeschauwerCatholic

Ministers without Portfolio

NamePartyNamePartyHenri DenisNone (technical expert)Charles d'Aspremont LyndenCatholicPaul-Émile Janson (until 1943)LiberalArthur Vanderpoorten (until January 1943)LiberalLéon MatagnePOB-BWPAugust de Schryver(until 3 May 1943)CatholicEugène SoudanPOB-BWP

Changes

19 February 1942 Julius Hoste (Liberal) becomes Undersecretary for Public Education. Henri Rolin (POB-BWP) becomes Undersecretary for Defence. Gustave Joassart (technical expert) becomes Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare. 2 October 1942 Antoine Delfosse (Catholic) becomes Minister for Justice, National Information and Propaganda. Henri Rolin (POB-BWP) resigns as Undersecretary for Defence, in the aftermath of a minor mutiny in the Free Belgian forces. His role is assumed by Hubert Pierlot, who becomes Minister for National Defence in addition to his existing titles. January 1943 Arthur Vanderpoorten (Liberal), who had refused to follow the government to London, is apprehended by the Germans in France. He would later die in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. 3 May 1943 August de Schryver (Catholic) becomes Minister for Interior Affairs and Agriculture, after having served as Minister without Portfolio. 6 April 1943 August Balthazar (POB-BWP) becomes Minister for Public Works and Transport. 16 July 1943 Gustave Joassart (technical expert) resigns as Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare. 3 September 1943 Joseph Bondas (POB-BWP) becomes Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare. Raoul Richard (technical expert) becomes Undersecretary for Supplies. 30 March 1943 Paul Tschoffen (Catholic) becomes Minister of State. 6 June 1944 Paul Tschoffen (Catholic) becomes Head of the Mission for Civil Affairs.

Role The government in exile was expected to fulfill the functions of a national government, but also represent Belgian interest to the Allied powers, leading Paul-Henri Spaak to comment that "all that remains of legal and free Belgium, all that is entitled to speak in her name, is in London".

The British diplomatic mission to Belgium, under Ambassador Lancelot Oliphant, was attached to the government in exile. In March 1941, the Americans also sent an Ambassador, Anthony Biddle Jr., to represent the United States to the governments in exile of Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Norway. The Soviet Union, which had broken off diplomatic relations with Belgium in May 1941 (heavily influenced by the then-in force Nazi-Soviet Pact), re-established its legation to the government in exile in the aftermath of the German invasion and eventually expanded it to the rank of Embassy in 1943.

Belgian refugees

One of the most pressing concerns facing the government in exile in 1940 was the situation of Belgian refugees in the United Kingdom. By 1940, at least 15,000 Belgian civilians had arrived in the United Kingdom, many of them without their possessions. The refugees had originally been dealt with by the British government, however in September 1940, the government established a Central Service of Refugees to provide material assistance and employment for Belgians in Britain.

The British public was exceptionally hostile to Belgian refugees in 1940, because of the belief that Belgium had betrayed the Allies in May 1940. A British Mass Observation report noted a "growing feeling against Belgian refugees" in the United Kingdom, closely linked to Leopold III's decision to surrender.

The government was also involved in the provision of social, educational and cultural institutions to Belgian refugees. In 1942, the government sponsored the creation of the Belgian Institute in London to entertain the Belgian refugee community in London. By 1943, there were also four Belgian schools in Britain with 330 pupils between them, in Penrith, Braemar, Kingston upon Thames and Buxton.

Free Belgian forces

In a broadcast on French Radio, shortly after the Belgian surrender, Pierlot called for the creation of an army-in-exile to continue the fight:

With some Belgian troops rescued from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo, as well as Belgian émigrés already living in England, the government in exile approved the creation of a (CMBR; "Belgian Military Camp for Regrouping") in Tenby, Wales. By July 1940, the camp numbered 462 Belgians, rising to nearly 700 by August 1940. These soldiers were organized into the 1st Fusilier Battalion in August, and the government appointed Lieutenant-Generals Raoul Daufresne de la Chevalerie as commander, and Victor van Strydonck de Burkel as inspector-general of the new force. 28 Belgian airmen participated in the Battle of Britain"The Airmen of the Battle of Britain" bbm.org.uk. Retrieved: 29 January 2017. and the Belgian government was later able to successfully lobby for the creation of two all-Belgian squadrons within the Royal Air Force as well as the creation of a Belgian section within the Royal Navy.