Frans Schollaert

Frans Schollaert (1851 to 1917) was a Belgian lawyer and Catholic Party politician who served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 1907 to 1911. Born in Wilsele, he trained in law and practiced in Leuven, and he led the Flemish farmers' union, the Boerenbond. He entered the Chamber of People's Representatives in 1888 and presided over it from 1901 to 1908, returning to its benches from 1911 until his death. He became prime minister after the sudden death of Jules de Trooz on the last day of 1907, and alongside the premiership he held the Interior and Agriculture portfolios from 1908 to 1910 and the Arts and Science portfolio from 1910 to 1911. His government sat while the Belgian parliament, after heated debate, voted to annex the Congo Free State, which had been the private property of King Leopold II, and it became the Belgian Congo.