Alexandre Gendebien

A prominent Mons and Brussels attorney, Gendebien was the chief conspirator coordinating revolutionary contacts with Paris in 1830. Upon the flight of Dutch troops from Brussels, he was named to the Provisional Government, organizing national administration and the volunteer army.

In 1839, when the European Great Powers forced Belgium to cede Dutch Limburg and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg under the Treaty of London, Gendebien delivered a passionate parliamentary speech shouting: 'Non, 380,000 fois non pour 380,000 Belges abandonnés!' and resigned his parliamentary seat in protest.