Beernaert, Auguste M(arie) F(rancis) (1829-1912)

Belgian attorney and politician. Beernaert shared the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1909 with French diplomat Baron de Constant d'Estournelles for his untiring efforts in the cause of peace in his later life.

He took a prominent part in all the peace conferences from 1889 until his death in 1912. Beernaert's publications include De l'Etat de l'Enseignement du Droit en France et en Allemagne (1854) and Discours Prononce de l'Inauguration de Quais d'Anvers (1885).

Born in Ostend, Belgium, into a Catholic family, Beernaert was educated at the University of Louvain, becoming a doctor of law in 1851. As prime minister from 1884 to 1894 he collaborated with King Leopold in establishing the Belgian Congo but moved into the opposition when Leopold refused to listen to his advice. Beernaert introduced suffrage and efficient elections in Belgium.