Édouard de Laveleye

Baron Édouard-Émile-Albert de Laveleye (Ghent, 22 October 1854 – Brussels, 23 November 1938) was a Belgian mining engineer, financier and writer. He was son of Émile de Laveleye (1822–1892), a famed economist.[1][2]

He made several investment trips in Latin America.[3] His nephew was Victor de Laveleye, the Belgian government in exile's spokesman in London during World War II.[4]

Sports

He was the first chairman of the Belgian Football Association (1895–1924), and the president of the Belgian Olympic Committee. For his services, he was made the first honorary member of FIFA. This honor was given to him after convincing representatives of The Football Association, the association that included members of the British Home Nations, to join FIFA rather than remain independent. On April 14, 1905 The Football Association recognized the authority of FIFA.[5] This allowed FIFA to hold its first international football competition. In allying the Football Association in the French FIFA, each of the home nations joined as equal members, a legacy maintained today.

On February 18, 1906, in the Hotel Ravenstein in Brussels, Laveleye formed the Belgian Olympic Committee, and was elected the group's first president.[6] In this role he posted a bid for Belgium on March 27, 1912 to host the 1920 Olympics. The games were successfully awarded to Antwerp, much because of his influence and the effect World War I had on the nation. This was the only time they have been held in Belgium.

Writings
  • Excursion aux nouvelles découvertes minières du Colorado 1878
  • Chicago et la traversée du continent - Notes d'un voyage aux États-Unis 1880

References
  1. La Noblesse belge - Partie 2 - Page 97 1923 "Baron (1892) Édouard-Émile-Albert de Laveleye, né Gand 22 oct. 1854, ép. Clepper-Noorwood (comté de Surrey, Angleterre), 28 août 1879"
  2. La Jeune Belgique - Volume 1 - Page 64 Maurice Warlomont - 1882 "Notes de Voyage, par M. EDOUARD DE LAVELEYE. — M. Ed. De Laveleye, le fils du célèbre économiste et littérateur, Emile De Laveleye, a publié dans la Bibliothèque Gilon un ouvrage dont nous n'osons pas trop le féliciter. Ce ne sont que des notes, nous dira-t-on, mais il n'en reste pas moin ..."
  3. Christian Topalov Les divisions de la ville 2002 Page 277 "C'est en effet qu'il envisage, en tant que conseiller du banquier Fontaine de Laveleye pour ses investissements en Amérique latine, la formation de la City à laquelle s'associeront d'autres banquiers européens, comme Lord Balfour de ..."
  4. Tinou Dutry-Soinne Les méconnus de Londres: journal de guerre d'une Belge, 1940-1945 - Volume 1 - Page 189 - 2006 "Victor Laveleye .. Il fut membre du Comité olympique belge et président de l'association belge du hockey. Petit-neveu d'Emile, neveu du baron Edouard de Laveleye. Il participa, pour la Belgique, à l'élaboration de la charte des Nations Unies à San Francisco "
  5. "The History of FIFA". Classic Football. FIFA. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  6. Silance, Luc (1997). Les sports et le droit (in French). Larcier. p. 487. ISBN 2-8041-2573-4.
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