Belgian Socialist Party
French: Parti socialiste belge
Dutch: Belgische Socialistische Partij
PresidentAchille Van Acker (first)
André Cools (last)
FounderPaul-Henri Spaak
FoundedMay 1945
DissolvedOctober 1978
Preceded byBelgian Labour Party
Succeeded bySocialist Party (Flemish)
Socialist Party (Francophone)
HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
Trade union wingGeneral Federation of Belgian Labour
IdeologySocial democracy
Democratic socialism
Political positionCentre-left
European affiliationConfederation of the Socialist Parties
International affiliationSocialist International
Colours  Red

The Belgian Socialist Party (French: Parti Socialiste belge, PSB; Dutch: Belgische Socialistische Partij, BSP) was a social-democratic political party which existed in Belgium from 1945 to 1978. During its time in office, a number of progressive social reforms were introduced.[2]

The BSP was founded by activists from the Belgian Labour Party (1885–1940), which was the first Belgian socialist party. It ceased to function during the Second World War, while Belgium was under Nazi occupation. Its main support bases were the co-operative and trade union movements, and it won relatively more support in Wallonia. Like most Belgian political organisations, the party supported greater integration with the European Economic Community, albeit in a socialist context.[3]

As linguistic and community issues became more divisive, the Belgian Socialist Party split into two new entities: the Flemish Socialist Party for the Flemish community and the Parti Socialiste (PS) for the Francophone community.

Presidents

Presidents BSP/PSB[4]
Period President
1942–1945 Achille Van Acker
1945–1959 Max Buset
1959–1971 Leo Collard
Co-Presidents (from 1971)[5]
Period Dutch speaking co-President French speaking co-President
1971–1973 Jos Van Eynde Edmond Leburton
1973–1975 Jos Van Eynde André Cools
1975–1977 Willy Claes André Cools
1977–1978 Karel Van Miert André Cools

Election Results

Election year Votes Seats Change
Number Percentage
1946 746,738 31.57%
69 / 202
 Steady
1949 1,496,539 29.76%
66 / 212
 9 3
1950 1,705,781 34.51%
73 / 212
 Increase 7
1954 1,927,015 37.34%
82 / 212
 Increase 9
1958 1,897,646 35.79%
80 / 212
 9 2
1961 1,933,424 36.72%
84 / 212
 Increase 4
1965 1,403,107 28.28%
64 / 212
 9 20
1968 1,403,107 27.10%
59 / 212
 9 5
1971 549,483

623,395


1,172,878

10.40%

11.80%


22,20%

25 / 212
25 / 212
50 / 212
[a] 		9 9
1974 1,401,725 26.66%
59 / 212
[b] 		Increase 9
1977 602,132

725,513


1,327,645

10.80%

13.01%


23,81%

34 / 212
27 / 212
61 / 212
[a] 		2 2

a From the 1971 general election, the Belgian Socialist Party ran separate lists for Flanders and Wallonia; however, they still existed under a single party. The letters in bold thus show the results of the combined lists and consequently the true result of the Belgian Socialist Party in each election
b Whilst the Belgian Socialist Party also ran separate lists for Flanders and Wallonia in the 1974 general election, there is no information on the results of separate lists, hence only the result for the combined lists is shown.

See also

References

  1. ^ Pfister, Thierry (24 May 1975). "M. Mitterrand cherche un langage commun avec les leaders socialistes de l'Europe du Sud". Le Monde (in French). Paris. ISSN 0395-2037. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-10.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Cook, Chris; Francis, Mary (1979). The first European elections: A handbook and guide. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 0-333-26575-0.
  4. ^ "sp.a partijvoorzitters". Tijdslijn.s-p-a.be. Archived from the original on 2009-10-09. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  5. ^ [1] Archived October 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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