Pierre Ryckmans (governor-general)
Pierre Ryckmans (23 November 1891 – 18 February 1959) was a Belgian civil servant who served as Governor-General of the Belgium's principal African colony, the Belgian Congo, between 1934 and 1946. Ryckmans began his career in the colonial service in 1915 and also spent time in the Belgian mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. His term as Governor-General of the Congo coincided with World War II in which he was instrumental in bringing the colony into the war on the Allied side after Belgium's defeat in May 1940. He was also a prolific writer on colonial affairs.
Biography
Early life and family
Ryckmans was born in Antwerp, Belgium as the sixth child of Alphonse Ryckmans and Clémence Van Ryn. The Ryckmans family came from Mechelen, where they had been lawyers for two generations. His father, Alphonse, was member of the Catholic Party, a senator in the Belgian Senate, and city councillor.
He started philosophy at the Catholic University of Louvain in Leuven. During his first year, he translated a Spanish novel by Blasco Ibanez. After two years of philosophy and one year of preparation for law, he spent one year in Braunfels, Germany (learning German), and some months in Galway, Ireland (learning English), and the on the Aran Islands, where he learnt his sixth living language, Irish. Every year, he passed his Law examinations in the Central Jury. He received a Law degree in Louvain in 1913.
World War I and Africa
He had been called to the bar in Antwerp when World War I started. Volunteer in August 1914, he spends the winter on the Yser front, where he apparently enjoys the comradeship of the front, despite the hardships. But he had been drawn to Africa, even before the war, and when Belgium wanted officers for the Belgian colonies. After a month and a half at Officers' School in September 1915, he left for Africa, first for Cameroon, then Kitega (the principle town of Urundi) where he arrived in August 1916. He went to Mahenge in 1917, returning to Kitega in July 1918.
He went on leave in 1920, and on 3 February 1920 married Madeleine Nève. The returned go back to Urundi via the Cape and the Congo. Pierre Ryckmans stayed in Usumbura, as acting Royal Commissioner during the leave of the Commissioner, Alfred Marzorati, then returned to Kitega, where remained until 1928.
These years as Resident-Commissioner for Urundi were probably the happiest of his life. When he arrived in 1916, Burundi was divided. The chiefs were fighting for power; the Mwami (king), Mutaga IV, had died in 1915, leaving as heir, Mwambatsu, a child of five. Ryckmans created a regency council, including some opponents, and made it adopt some reforms in land tenure and cattle contracts. These reforms lightened the burdens of the poorest peasants.
Governor-General of the Congo
Interwar
Ryckmans returned to Europe in 1928 and joined the bar in Brussels. However, a lot of his time was given to public lectures on the role of Belgium in Africa. Some of them were published in two books, Dominer pour Servir (1932) and La Politique Coloniale (1934). He returned to Africa for six months in 1931-32 as member of the commission to study the labour problem, where he was put in charge of Congo-Kasai province. He gave lectures at the Colonial University in Antwerp. he was giving radio talks on the Congo for Belgian radio listeners (published in "Allo Congo" in 1934) when he was appointed Governor-General of the Congo in October 1934.
At that time, the Congo was badly hit by the economic crisis triggered by the Great Depression. The European population (23,000 in 1931) had fallen to just 18,000. Harsh reforms by the previous Governor-General, Auguste Tilkens, had disheartened the civil service. The Belgian devaluation of 1935, under the Paul Van Zeeland government, enabled the new governor to lower import duties and raise export duties, keeping thus to balance the budget. This move, with the support of the Minister, E. Rubbens, helped to reinvigorate the economy. By 1936, the economic situation was improving rapidly. The Governor was active, not staying long in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), and toured the colony frequently.
At the time, not only government, but also simple administration, was centralized in Brussels and all civil servants were appointed by Brussels. The Governor-General could pass regulations, but all had to be approved by Ministerial decree within six months. Therefore some of the reforms he wanted – such as recruiting magistrates from the administrative officers with a law degree, who had local experience - could not be put into practice. The Governor-General stressed the independence of administration from private interests - such as the large mining companies - and the right of Protestants – as well as Catholics - to receive government subsidies for their schools.
World War II
His first five years in Congo - during which he was twice on leave – were years of progress for the administration. In 1939, the last year, World War II broke out but Belgium remained neutral. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded Belgium bringing the country into the war. On 10 May, four of Ryckmans' children (out of eight) were in Belgium. Two daughters, who first fled as refugees into France with their aunt, managed to get to Lisbon, and were reunited with their parents in September. Two sons spent the whole war in Belgium.
In the Congo, it was unclear how Belgium's surrender and occupation should affect the colony. Ryckmans, who was strongly pro-Allied, insisted that the Congo declare its allegiance to the Allies. He encountered various opposition, including from the military command which initially advocated neutrality. Some officers, however, wanted to fight the Italians in Ethiopia when Belgium was not yet at war with Italy. Some whites in the Congo believed the Governor-General was "too soft". The Governor, with no instructions from the Belgian government in exile in London, which since its hesitations in July 1940, had lost much prestige. He was involved in important discussion with the Allies who wanted production of strategic materials – first gold, then (after Pearl Harbor) tin and rubber – and then uranium.
Meanwhile, the government in exile wanted to curb his powers, censor his speeches and curb his independence. European workers organized trade-unions while both European and African workers launched a number of strikes which he was forced to deal with. His wartime speeches, Messages de Guerre, were published in 1945.
United Nations and last days
He wanted to leave to his successor with the political changes which had been launched in Congo. In his last speech in Africa, "Vers l’Avenir”, published in his speeches to the Government council in Etapes et Jalons (1946), he spoke mainly about the aid which Belgium must give to the Congo, to allow Congo to improve the well-being of its inhabitants.
For a number of years, until 1957, he defended the work done by Belgium in Ruanda-Urundi at the United Nations Trusteeship Council. He was also Commissioner for Nuclear Energy in Belgium and helped with the re-negotiating the terms of the cooperation between Belgium, the United Kingdom and the United States following the Atomic Energy Act of 1946. He was also member of the council of the University of Lovanium (the first Congolese university founded in 1954). For health reasons, he did not play a role in preparing Congo for independence. He died in February 1959 before Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.
Family
In 1960, during the chaos that followed the independence of Congo, his son, André, who was a civil servant in Bas-Congo, was looking for isolated Europeans in a helicopter. The helicopter came down in Lukala, a small town in Bas-Congo. André and the pilot were taken prisoner and then killed by Congolese soldiers.
In 1962, father and son were posthumously ennobled by King Baudouin I and given the title of count in the Belgian nobility.
See also
References
Further reading
- J. Stengers, in “Libres Propos”, in the biography by J. Vanderlinden (1994), “Pierre Ryckmans, 1891-1959”, Ed. De Boeck Université.
External links
- "Congo goes to War" from the Times Magazine, 10 Dec 1940
- The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre
- Fonds Andre Ryckmans, an NGO funding development projects
| Preceded by Auguste Tilkens |
Governor of Belgian Congo 1934-1946 |
Succeeded by Eugène Jungers |
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