Brouckère, Charles-Marie-Joseph-Ghislain de

(1796-1860)

   Charles de Brouckère was born in Bruges in 1796. He became a captain in the Dutch army in 1820 and was elected in 1825 as a member of the second chamber of the Estates-General during the Dutch regime. He served independent Belgium as a principal author of the constitution of 1831, a member of the legislature, minister of the interior, and later of war, and aide-de-camp to King Leopold I. He was a founder of the Banque de Belgigue and the Université libre de Bruxelles, where he held a post in political economy. A member of the communal council, he was appointed fourth burgomaster of Brussels in 1848. Brouckère was a diligent promoter of municipal services, most especially a potable water network, a subscription service that was established in 1857. He enjoyed widespread popularity, his fellow residents dubbing him the "great burgomaster." He died in office on 20 April 1860.

   In October 1866 a fountain was inaugurated in his honor at the foot of boulevard du Régent. A notable landmark in the upper town, it was dismantled in 1958 and, 20 years later, remounted at Heysel.