Félix de Mérode

Félix de Merode
Félix de Merode
Born	Philippe Félix Balthasar Otto Ghislain, Count de Merode (1791-04-13)13 April 1791 Maastricht, Belgium
Died	7 February 1857(1857-02-07) (aged 65)
Nationality	Belgium
Occupation	politician

Philippe Félix Balthasar Otto Ghislain, Count de Merode (13 April 1791 – 7 February 1857), known as Félix de Merode, was a Belgian politician.

Born in Maastricht, Merode's father was mayor of Brussels during the period in which modern Belgium formed part of France. Under the First French Empire, Merode lived in Paris. In 1809 he married Rosalie de Gramont, niece by marriage of the Marquis de Lafayette.

Merode settled in the southern part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands—modern Belgium—and was one of the leaders of the Belgian Revolution of 1830. He served in the Provisional Government of Belgium and in the Belgian National Congress which was elected in November 1830. Merode was proposed as a candidate for the throne of the newly created Belgium, but refused to be considered as he was not a prince, merely a count. Merode's brother Frédéric was killed during the fighting against the forces of King William I following the revolution.

He formed part of the delegation to Paris which sought to have Louis, Duke of Nemours, second son of King Louis-Philippe, accept the throne, but this approach was rebuffed by the French king. Merode was a confidant of the eventual king, Leopold I, and was made a Minister of State in 1831.

He served as Foreign affairs, War, and Finance minister in the 1830s. He resigned from office in 1839 as he was unwilling to sign the Treaty of London ceding Belgian territory to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Charles Forbes René de Montalembert was his son in law, and Montalembert's political ideas were supported by Merode. His son Frédéric-François-Xavier Ghislain de Mérode served as a minister to Pope Pius IX.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Félix de Mérode.

• Biographie générale des belges morts ou vivants, P Roger, 1849, at Google Books.

Belgian Revolution and the Independence of Belgium (1830–39) Belgian Revolution Belgian Revolution Rattachism Orangism La muette de Portici (August 1830) Brabançonne (August 1830) Provisional Government of Belgium (September 1830 - February 1831) National Congress of Belgium (November 1830) Constitution of Belgium (February 1831) First Belgian monarchs Érasme, Baron Surlet de Chokier (Regent; February 1831 - July 1831) Leopold I (King of the Belgians; July 1831 - December 1865) Important figures Charles Niellon Alexandre Dechet (Jenneval) Frédéric de Mérode Juan Van Halen (see also List of members of the National Congress) Provisional Government Alexandre Gendebien André Jolly Charles Rogier Louis de Potter Sylvain Van de Weyer Feuillien de Coppin Félix de Mérode Joseph Vanderlinden Emmanuel Van der Linden d'Hooghvorst de Gerlache Government Étienne Constantin de Gerlache Charles de Brouckère Alexandre Gendebien Albert Goblet d'Alviella Sylvain Van de Weyer Lebeau I Government Joseph Lebeau Étienne de Sauvage Charles de Brouckère Paul Devaux United Kingdom of the Netherlands King William I Prince William Ten Days' Campaign (August 1831) Siege of Antwerp (1832) Treaties London Conference of 1830 Treaty of the Eighteen Articles (1831) Treaty of London (1839) Treaty of Maastricht (1843) Iron Rhine Treaty (1873) Monuments and honours Martyrs' Square Congress Column Civic Guard Merit Medal 1830 Star of Honour Iron Cross 1830 Volunteers' Commemorative Cross