Belgian government in exile The Belgian Government in London ( , ) , also known as the Pierlot IV Government , was the government in exile of Belgium between October 1940 and September 1944 . After the invasion of Belgium by Nazi Germany in May 1940 , the Belgian government , under Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot , fled first to Bordeaux in France and then to London , where it established itself as the only legitimate representation of Belgium to the Allies . Despite no longer having official authority in its own country , the government administered the Belgian Congo and held negotiations with other Allied powers about post - war reconstruction . It also exercised influence within the Belgian army - in - exile and attempted to maintain links with the resistance in the occupied country . The government was tripartite , involving ministers from the Catholic , Liberal and Labour Parties . Background . Politically , Belgian politics had been dominated in the interwar period by the Catholic Party , usually in coalition with the Belgian Labour Party ( POB - BWP ) or the Liberal Party . The 1930s also saw the rise in popularity of Fascist parties within Belgium ; most notably Rex which peaked at the 1936 election with 11 % of the vote . From the early 1930s , Belgian foreign and domestic policy had been dominated by the policy of neutrality ; leaving international treaties and alliances and attempting to maintain good diplomatic relations with both Britain , France and Germany . Despite this policy , Belgium was invaded without warning by German forces on 10 May 1940 . After 18 days of fighting , the Belgian military surrendered on 28 May and the country was placed under the control of a German military government . Between 600 , 000 and 650 , 000 Belgian men ( nearly 20 % of the country ' s male population ) had been mobilized to fight . Unlike the Netherlands or Luxembourg , whose monarchies went into exile alongside the government , King Leopold III surrendered to the Germans alongside his army – contrary to the advice of his government . In the days before his surrender , he allegedly attempted to form a new government under the pro - Nazi socialist Henri De Man though this was never realized . He remained a prisoner of the Germans , under house arrest , for the rest of the war . Though the government briefly attempted to negotiate with the German authorities from exile in France , however the German authorities passed a decree forbidding members of the Belgian government returning to the country and the talks were abandoned . Establishment in London . The Belgian government in France had been intending to follow the French government of Paul Reynaud to the French empire to continue the fight . However , when Reynaud was replaced by the pro - German German Philippe Pétain , this plan was abandoned . Despite hostility from the new Vichy regime , the Pierlot government remained in France . In a letter of the 16 September 1940 , Petain ' s government demanded the disbandment of the Belgian government , still at that time in Bordeaux : While the government under Pierlot was still in France , the Belgian Minister of Health , Marcel - Henri Jaspar , arrived in London on 21 June . Jaspar believed that the Pierlot government intended to surrender to the Germans , and was determined to prevent it . Jaspar held talks with Charles De Gaulle , and on 23 June gave a speech on British Broadcasting radio , in which he stated that he was personally forming an alternative government to continue the fight . His stance was condemned by the Pierlot government in Bordeaux , and he was received coldly by the Belgian ambassador in London , Emile de Cartier de Marchienne . Jaspar , joined by the Socialist " burgomaster " of Antwerp Camille Huysmans , along with other so - called " London Rebels " formed their own government on 5 July 1940 . The British , however , were reluctant to recognize the Jaspar - Huysmans Government . The challenge to the Pierlot government ' s authority spurred it into action . Albert de Vleeschauwer , Pierlot ' s Minister of the Colonies , arrived in London on the same day as the Jaspar - Huysmans government was formed . As the only Belgian minister with legal power outside Belgium itself , De Vleeschauwer , together with Camille Gutt who arrived soon after , on his own initiative , was able to form a temporary " Government of Two " with British approval in London . The two waited for Paul - Henri Spaak and Pierlot , who had been detained in Francoist Spain " en route " from France , to join them . Pierlot and Spaak reached London on 22 October 1940 , marking the start of the period of the " Government of Four " , providing the " official " government with the legitimacy of Belgium ' s last elected Prime Minister . The British were distrustful of many of the Belgian ministers , as well as the size and legitimacy of the government itself . However , with the arrival of the Prime Minister , it was reluctantly accepted : The bulk of the Belgian government was installed in Eaton Square in the Belgravia area of London , which before the war had been the location of the Belgian Embassy . Other government departments were installed in nearby Hobart Place , Belgrave Square and Knightsbridge . The offices of the Belgian government were situated close to other governments - in - exile , including Luxembourg , in Wilton Crescent , and the Netherlands in Picadilly . By December 1940 , the British recognized the " government of four " as the legal representation of Belgium , with the same status as the other governments in exile : Composition . Initially numbering just four ministers , the government was soon joined by numerous others . The government in exile comprised both politicians and civil servants in a number of government departments . Most were focused in the Ministries of the Colonies , Finance , Foreign Affairs and Defence , but with skeleton staff in a number of others . By May 1941 , there were nearly 750 people working in the government in London in all capacities . Role . The Government in Exile was expected to fulfill the functions of a national government , but also represent Belgian interest to the Allied powers , leading Paul - Henri Spaak to comment that " all that remains of legal and free Belgium , all that is entitled to speak in her name , is in London " . The British diplomatic mission to Belgium , under Ambassador Lancelot Oliphant , was attached to the government in exile . In March 1941 , the Americans also sent an Ambassador , Anthony Biddle Jr . , to represent the United States to the governments in exile of Belgium , the Netherlands , Poland and Norway . The Soviet Union , which had broken off diplomatic relations with Belgium in May 1941 ( heavily influenced by the then - in force Nazi - Soviet Pact ) , re - established its legation to the government in exile in the aftermath of the German invasion and eventually expanded it to the rank of Embassy in 1943 . Belgian refugees . One of the most pressing concerns facing the government in exile in 1940 was the situation of Belgian refugees in the United Kingdom . By 1940 , at least 15 , 000 Belgian civilians had arrived in the United Kingdom , many of them without their possessions . The refugees had originally been dealt with by the British government , however in September 1940 , the government established a Central Service of Refugees to provide material assistance and employment for Belgians in Britain . The British public was exceptionally hostile to Belgian refugees in 1940 , because of the belief that Belgium had betrayed the Allies in 1940 . A British Mass Observation report noted a " growing feeling against Belgian refugees " in the United Kingdom , closely linked to Leopold III ' s decision to surrender . The government was also involved in the provision of social , educational and cultural institutions to Belgian refugees . In 1942 , the government sponsored the creation of the Belgian Institute in London to entertain the Belgian refugee community in London . By 1943 , there were also four Belgian schools in Britain with 330 pupils between them , in Penrith , Braemar , Kingston and Buxton . Free Belgian forces . In a broadcast on French Radio , shortly after the Belgian surrender , Pierlot called for the creation of an army - in - exile to continue the fight : With some Belgian troops rescued from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo , as well as Belgian émigrés already living in England , the government in exile approved the creation of an ( CMBR ; " Belgian Military Camp for Regrouping " ) in Tenby , Wales . By July 1940 , the camp numbered 462 Belgians , rising to nearly 700 by August 1940 . These soldiers were organized into the 1st Fusilier Battalion in August , and the government appointed Lieutenant - Generals Raoul Daufresne de la Chevalerie as commander , and Victor van Strydonck de Burkel as inspector - general of the new force . The government was later able to successfully lobby for the creation of a Belgian Section within the Royal Navy , as well as the creation of two all - Belgian squadrons within the Royal Air Force . For the first years of the war , a degree of tension existed between the government and the army , which divided its allegiance between government and King . The Free Belgian forces , particular the infantry who had been training since 1940 , held the government responsible for not being allowed to fight . In November 1942 , 12 Belgian soldiers mutinied , complaining about their inactivity . By 1943 , the army ' s royalist stance had been moderated , allowing the government to re - gain the support of the military . Treaties and negotiations . In September 1941 , the Belgian government signed the Atlantic Charter in London alongside other governments in exile , presenting the common goals which the Allies sought to achieve after the war . A year later , the government signed the Declaration by United Nations in January 1942 , with 26 other nations , which would set a precedent for the foundation of the United Nations Organisation in 1945 . From 1944 , the Allies became increasingly concerned with laying the framework of post - war Europe . These were formalized through numerous treaties and agreements from 1944 . In July 1944 , Camille Gutt attended the Bretton Woods Conference in the United States on behalf of the Belgian government , establishing the Bretton Woods System of currency controls . During the negotiations , Gutt served as an important intermediary between the delegates of the major Allied powers . Through the agreements , the Belgian Franc ' s exchange rate would be tied to the US $ after the war , while he conference also established the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) of which Gutt would serve as the first director . In September 1944 , the Belgian , the Netherlands and Luxembourgish governments in exile began formulating an agreement over the creation of a Benelux Customs Union . The agreement was signed in the London Customs Convention on 5 September 1944 , just days before the Belgian government returned to Brussels after the liberation . The Benelux Customs Union was a major extension of a pre - war union between Belgium and Luxembourg , and would later form the basis of the " Benelux Economic Union " from 1958 . Authority . Unlike many other governments in exile , which were forced to rely exclusively on financial support from the Allies , the Belgian government in exile could fund itself independently . In large part , this was due to the Belgian national gold reserves , which had been moved to Britain , and provided an important asset . The Belgian government was also in control of the Belgian Congo , which exported large amounts of raw materials ( including rubber , gold and uranium ) which the Allies relied on for the war effort . Stances . Relations with Leopold III . Despite being a constitutional monarch , the King of the Belgians had occupied an important political role within Belgium before the war . The decision of Leopold III to surrender to the Germans – without consulting his own ministers – outraged the Belgian cabinet . The King ' s apparent opposition to it undermined its credibility and legitimacy . For the first years of the war , the King was viewed as an alternative source of " government " by many , including figures in the Free Belgian military , which served to further undermine the official government in London . Later in the war , the government changed its position to be less belligerent towards the king . Belgian propaganda of the time instead emphasized the King ' s position as " martyr " and prisoner - of - war and presented him as sharing the same sufferings as the occupied country . In a radio speech on 10 May 1941 ( the first anniversary of the German invasion ) , Pierlot called for Belgians to " rally around the prisoner - King . He personifies our murdered country . Be as loyal to him as we are here . " According to the Constitution of 1831 , the Belgian government was allowed to override the wishes of the King if he had been declared incompetent to reign . On 28 May 1940 , the Pierlot government in France had declared the King to be under the power of the invaders and unfit to reign , providing strong legal foundations and making itself the only official source of government . Although the King was technically the only person able to receive diplomatic legations and conclude treaties , the government in exile was able to do both during the war independently . Relations with the Resistance . The Belgian government of Jaspar - Huysmans called for the creation of organized resistance in occupied Belgium from London , even before the French surrender : The government succeeded in obtaining control over French and Dutch language radio broadcasts to occupied Belgium , broadcast by the BBC ' s . The radio station was essential for keeping the resistance and public alike informed , and was placed under the control of the journalist Paul Lévy . Amongst those working in the radio was Victor de Laveleye , a former government minister who worked as a newsreader , who is credited for inventing the " V for Victory " campaign . Nevertheless , the apparent isolation of the government in exile from the day - to - day situation in Belgium meant that it was viewed with suspicion by many resistance groups , particularly those whose politics different from the established government . The government , for its part , was afraid that resistance groups would turn into ungovernable political militias after liberation , challenging the government ' s position and threatening political stability . The resistance , however , was frequently reliant on finance and drops of equipment and supplies which both the government in exile and the British Special Operations Executive ( SOE ) were able to provide . During the course of the war , the government in exile delivered between 124 – 245 million francs , dropped by parachute or transferred via bank accounts in neutral Portugal , to the group alone , with smaller sums also distributed to other organisations . In the early years of the war , contact with the government exile was difficult to establish . The dispatched a member to try to establish contact in May 1941 , it took a full year to reach London . Radio contact was briefly established in late 1941 , however , the contact was extremely intermittent between 1942 and 1943 , with a permanent radio connection to the ( codenamed " Stanley " ) only established in 1944 . In May 1944 , the government in exile attempted to rebuild its relationship with the resistance by establishing a " Coordination Committee " of representatives of the major groups , including the " Légion Belge " , " Mouvement National Belge " , " Groupe G " and the " Front de l ' Indépendance " . However , the committee was rendered redundant by the liberation in September . Return to Belgium . Allied troops entered Belgium on 1 September 1944 . On 6 September , the Welsh Guards liberated the capital , Brussels . The government in exile returned to Brussels on 8 September 1944 . " Operation Gutt " , a plan devised by Camille Gutt to avoid rampant inflation in liberated Belgium by limiting the money supply , was put into action with great success . On 26 September , Pierlot formed a new government of national unity ( Pierlot V ) in Brussels . The new government included many of the ministers ( including all of the " four " ) from London , but for the first time also including the Communists . In December 1944 , a new triparate government was formed , with Pierlot still as Prime Minister . In 1945 , having been Prime Minister since 1939 , Pierlot was finally replaced by the Socialist , Achille Van Acker . The government in exile was one of the last governments in which the traditional parties which had dominated Belgium since its creation were still present . In 1945 , the POB - BWP changed its name to the Belgian Socialist Party ( PSB - BSP ) and the Catholic Party became the Christian Social Party ( PSC - CVP ) .