Louis de Potter

Louis de Potter (26 April 1786 – 22 July 1859), was a Belgian journalist, revolutionary, politician and writer. Out of the more than 100 books and pamphlets, one of the most notable works was his famous Letter to my Fellow Citizens in which he promoted democracy, universal electoral rights and the unity among Belgian liberals and Catholics. As one of the heroes of the Belgian Revolution, he proclaimed the independence of Belgium from the Netherlands (from the terrace of the Brussels City Hall on 28 September 1830), and inaugurated the first Belgian parliamentary assembly, on behalf of the outgoing Belgian provisional government.

Quotes

 * It was not worth shedding so much blood for such a trifle!
 * Belgium since the Revolution of 1830, Page 198. Louis de Potter, who would have preferred Belgium to become a republic after the revolution of 1830, is disappointed when the National Congress opts for a hereditary monarchy instead.