Viscount Charles Ghislain Guillaume Vilain XIIII (15 May 1803 – 16 November 1878) was a Belgian politician, serving as governor of East Flanders, Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Chamber of Representatives of Belgium.
Contents
Early life
Charles Vilain XIIII was born in Brussels in 1803 as the eldest son of Count Philippe-Louis Vilain XIIII, mayor of Rupelmonde, and Baroness Sophie de Feltz. He was the eldest male descendant of one of the main branches of the ancient noble family Vilain XIIII. He studied at the Lyceum of Brussels, the Charlemagne college in Paris, and the Jesuit college in Saint-Acheul. He started studying law at the University of Liège in 1821, but dropped out of school and married Baroness Pauline de Billehé de Valensart (1800–1842) on 21 May 1822.
Political career
In 1828, Charles Vilain XIIII became a member of the States-General of the Netherlands and joined the opposition against William I of the Netherlands, but influenced by the writings of Hugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais, he had more progressive ideas than his father and his uncle Charles-Hippolyte Vilain XIIII, both also members of the States-General.