Erasme Louis Surlet de Chokier

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Erasme Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier (November 27, 1769 - August 7, 1839), born in Gingelom, was a Belgian politician and before the accession of Leopold I to the Belgian throne, was the first Regent of Belgium.

During the Heureuse Révolution of 1789, when a crowd followed the example of the French revolution and drove off the prince-bishop of Liège, Surlet de Chokier served in the patriotic army. When the following year this army was defeated by the Austrians at Hasselt and Zutendaal, Surlet de Chokier was forced to flee to Breda, only being able to return to Gingelom in 1792.

After the French annexation of Liège, Surlet de Chokier became a devoted follower of the French revolution and of Napoleon. In 1800, Surlet de Chokier was elected mayor of Gingelom and member of the departemental council of Meuse-Inférieure. In 1812 he became a member of the French parliament.

After the fall of Napoleon, Surlet de Chokier entered the Tweede Kamer of the Staten-Generaal as leader of the Southern opposition, where his opposition to the government gave him the nickname Surlet de Choquant. Although enobled a baron by the king in 1816, his opposition had aggravated King William I so much that the monarch personally made sure that Surlet de Chokier was not reelected in 1828.

After the Belgian revolution started, Surlet de Chokier was sent by the arrondissement Hasselt as a deputy to the National Congress. Elected Chairman of the Congress, Surlet de Chokier was active in the creation of the Belgian Constitution. After the refused offer of the Belgian crown to the Duke of Nemours, Surlet de Chokier was appointed Regent of Belgium on February 25, 1831, and can therefore be considered as the first Head of State of independent Belgium. He served as Regent until Leopold I took the oath as King of the Belgians on July 21, 1831.

Surlet de Chokier died in 1839 in Gingelom.