Charles Tornaco

Background

He was born and died at the castle of Vervoz near Clavier, Liège. Charles-Auguste was the youngest son of Baron Jean-Théodore de Tornaco.

Career

The Tornaco family came from Sanem. In 1738, Emperor Charles VI had ennobled them by creating them Barons, for their services in the Habsburg Netherlands. In his early life, he was a cuirassier officer in the Austrian military.

Under the French occupation, Napoleon named him mayor of Luxembourg City by decree on 5 April 1811, an office he held until June 1814.

He cared for the good of the city with a deep sense of duty, and also managed to represent the city"s interests to the occupying forces. Of particular note is his care for the typhus-afflicted soldiers in the city.

From 1818 to 1827 he was mayor of Sanem, where the De Tornaco family were the lords of the castle. Charles Auguste married Elisabeth de Berlo-Suys (1775-1856) on 11 November 1800 at Berloz.

The couple had three children:

Sidonie de Tornaco (1804-1876)

Victor de Tornaco, Prime Minister of Luxembourg

Mathilde de Tornaco (1813-1885), married Florent de Berlaymont (1815-1884) on 21 May 1840.

Achievements

• Tornaco was an ardent champion of the cause of the pro-Dutch Orangists, who wanted the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to remain in personal union with the Dutch King, and he rejected the Belgian Revolution of 1830.

Membership

He left the army to become a noble member of the second chamber of the Dutch Estates-General. Under William I he remained a member of the Estates-General.