Paul Joseph, Count de Smet de Naeyer (13 May 1843 – 9 September 1913) was a Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 Catholic Party

Catholic Party (Belgium)

The first Catholic Party in Belgium was established in 1869 as the Confessional Catholic Party .-History:In 1852 a Union Constitutionelle et Conservatrice was founded in Ghent, in Leuven , and in Antwerp and Brussels in 1858, which were active only during elections...

 politician.

Born in Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

, son of a cotton industrialist, he was himself also an industrialist and a banker. He was head of the Société Générale de Belgique

Société Générale de Belgique

The Société Générale de Belgique was one of the largest companies that ever existed in Belgium. It was founded in 1822 by William I, and existed until 2003, when its then sole shareholder, Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, merged it with Tractebel to form Suez-Tractebel.-History:As part of the terms of the...

 and the owner of several coal mines.

He represented Ghent and Eeklo

Eeklo

Eeklo is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only comprises the city of Eeklo proper. The name Eeklo comes from the contraction of “eke” and “lo”, two Old German words meaning “oak” and “sparse woods”....

 in the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives

Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives

The Belgian Chamber of Representatives is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate...

 from 1886 to 1908, and served in the Belgian Senate

Belgian Senate

The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...

 from 1908 to 1913. He served in several governments, as Finance minister from 1894 to 1896, and again from 1899 to 1907, combining the portfolio with the Ministry of Public Works. He was the 16th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1896 to 1899, and again from 1899 to 1907.

He was made an honorary Minister of State

Minister of State

Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...

 in 1899 and a Count

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

 in 1900. He died in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

.
|-