Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond Leuven (KVHV-Leuven)
The Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond Leuven (KVHV Leuven) is a conservative and Flemish-nationalist student association in Leuven. It belongs to the national organization of the Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond (KVHV) and was founded as Vlaamsch Verbond in 1902. However, the association's current magazine, Ons Leven, dates back to 1888.
Contents
History
Prelude
Although the KVHV in Leuven was only founded in 1902, there were already Flemish student associations in Leuven.
In 1836, a few years after the restoration of the Catholic University in Leuven, Emmanuel Van Straelen founded the "Nederduytsch Tael- en Letterlievend Genootschap Met Tijd en Vlijt".They pursued language proficiency and encyclopaedic knowledge through poetry, prose and lectures of all kinds. Non-members were rarely called upon for this purpose. Around this time, interest in Flemish political action slowly began to grow, although it would never become their main goal. In 1876, Met Tijd en Vlijt asked for a chair for Dutch language and literature. Its president, Professor Willems, refused to petition the bishops for the partial dutchification of education.
A few members then set up a student section of the Davidsfonds with Professor Verriest as its chairman, but this disappeared as soon as Prof. WIllems became general chairman of the Davidsfonds. The enthusiasm of these students (among them Albrecht Rodenbach), however, was not dampened, and they turned their full attention to the young students' movement. On September 5, 1877, Albrecht Rodenbach, Pol de Mont and Amaat Joos founded a Algemene Studentenbond (tr.: General Student Union) at a congress in Ghent, in which they organized a number of college and holiday unions, together with the literary magazine Het Pennoen. Rodenbach was elected general president and came to prominence as the great inspirer of the coordinating Flemish student movement. He set out the broad lines that the Catholic student movement would continue to follow long after him. He propagated a romantically tinted Flemish consciousness in which the message of Gezelle and Verriest "Be a Fleming whom God created a Fleming" was central. The scholars had to be formed into authentic - and therefore Catholic - Flemings who would take up their responsibility in the Flemish struggle.
Internal tensions, Flemish particularism, opposition and persecution by various colleges and the premature death of Rodenbach, however, meant the end of the General Student Union. The young student movement, however, continued to exist, stimulated by its magazines, including De Vlaamsche Vlagge and De Student.
The students who had acquired a shaping and independent thinking in this movement could not find themselves in the, mostly French-speaking, associations led by professors and protected by the university. They believed that the youth should be led by the youth. In 1883 the first independent Flemish student association was founded by the blauwvoeters Alfons Depla, Aloïs Bruwier and Emiel Lauwers: the West-Vlaamse Gilde. Other guilds came into being from 1885 onwards and several clubs also saw the light of day.
On 15 October 1888, the first edition of Ons Leven was published under the direction of Adelfons Henderickx, which is still the magazine of the KVHV Leuven. 10 years later, in 1898, Ons Leven celebrated its first lustrum and the Studentenliederboek by Karel Heynderickx was published. Although the Flemish Movement seemed no longer to be able to be ignored, the Algemeen Studentengenootschap (ASG)/Société Générale des Étudiants refused to accede to the request of Flemish students to adopt a joint administration. Some Flemish students were even prepared to make peace with a single Flemish meeting per year. Even this was rejected. The direct result was that in 1898 the Générale fell apart.
First years (1902-1914)
The vacuum left by the demise of the Générale was filled in 1902 by the Vlaamsch Verbond on the Flemish side, and the Fédération Wallonne des Régionales (Fédé) on the French-speaking side. On 27 November 1902, the Vlaamsch Verbond held its first meeting under the leadership of the 5 guild praesides. Ons Leven became the organ of the Verbond. The Verbond and the Fédé were coordinated by a newly founded Société Générale des Étudiants which from now on was led alternately one year by the praeses of the Verbond and the next by the praeses of the Fédé.
During the first years of its existence, the Verbond flourished under the impulse of Jef Vanden Eynde (Verbondspraeses 1905-1907), who endeavoured to bring the social life of Flemish students to a higher cultural level. The Verbond held meetings about once a month, with a great diversity in content: lectures, music and drama evenings alternated. In 1904 Jef Vanden Eynde organised for the first time the annual summer festival of the Verbond in Vlierbeek, with folk games, singing, music and barrels of beer. As its editor in chief, he elevated Ons Leven to a beautifully edited magazine, dedicated to the Flemish struggle, art and literature, also containing studentical pieces and poetry. In 1907, he introduced the first Flemish student caps and bands, and wrote the Verbondslied, among other songs.
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From 1908-1909 onwards, contact with the Catholic Flemish Senior Students' Unions grew, mainly because they supported the Verbond financially and instilled in the students a greater interest in the language struggle. Especially the demand for a Flemish university found much resonance. This increasingly radical attitude soon led to tensions with the academic authorities, which were evident at the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the university in May 1909. The Flemish students, wearing colourful caps introduced by Jef Vanden Eynde in 1907, walked in the procession behind their brass band, carrying the Verbond flag designed by Joe English, and at this celebration they loudly expressed their demand for a partial Dutchification of the KUL. During the evening banquet, the speeches of the Verbond praeses and professor Sencie were drowned out by shouting and murmuring. The Flemish did not accept this and held a protest demonstration that led to skirmishes with Walloon students. This led Rector Adolphe Hebbelynck to ban both the Vlaamsch Verbond and the Fédération wallonne. Some Flemish students founded Kerlinga with the representatives of the five guilds, with the main goal "to discuss the means to elevate and advance our Vlaamsch Verbond, Guilds and Club life." Kerlinga continued to exist until the outbreak of the First World War. When during the following academic year Ons Leven, of which Ernest Claes was then editor-in-chief, published a sharp caricature on the abolition of the Verbond, it suffered a ban on publication. From October 1911 onwards, the tensions with the academic authorities eased because the bishops, under pressure from Flemish-Catholic opinion, decided to double the number of courses in Leuven.
In 1911, the abolition of the Verbond was definitively circumvented: Flemish students from Leuven, Ghent and the Cureghem vet school founded the Algemeen Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond van België (tr.: General Catholic Flemish Students' Union of Belgium). In doing so, the students acted not as registered members of the Alma Mater, but as Belgian citizens. In October of the same year, the serious, very religious and radical Flemish circle Amicitia was founded, which opposed the 'beer-flamingantism' of the clubs and guilds, causing internal tensions in the Verbond that hampered its functioning until the First World War. The occupation of Leuven in 1914 temporarily put an end to the Verbond. During the First World War, many students ended up on the Yser Front, where the spirit of Amicitia lived on in the action of the Secretariat of Catholic Flemish High Students.
Interbellum (1919-1940)
On Friday, 31 January 1919, the Vlaams Verbond assembled again for the first time in Leuven. The enthusiasm reached a peak when the Verbond flag, followed by the Antwerp, West Flemish and East Flemish guild flags, were brought out unharmed. The brass band was re-established, and a new student cap was introduced. The next day, the academic authorities announced that the German caps were forbidden. The Verbond replaced them by a beret in wine red velvet, called Flat.
From 1919 onwards, the Vlaams Verbond would take a radical Flemish course. The treatment of a number of former activists (activism, repression), which was felt to be unjust, and the acceptance of the Nolf draft, which only half Dutchified the Ghent University (the so-called Nolf-shack), soon led to a radicalisation among the Flemish students, who started to lose their trust in the Christian Democratic defenders of the minimum programme. That same year, together with the Flemish-minded students of Ghent, Leuven, Antwerp and Brussels, the Verbond joined the Algemeen Vlaamsch Hoogstudentenverbond (AVHV). In 1923, the Vlaamsch Verbond was renamed the Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond (KVHV).
From the year 1922-1923, the KVHV leadership was fully won over to a nationalist solution, which entailed some form of self-government for Flanders. The emotional amnesty actions for convicted activists with the August Borms tribute (10 February 1924) provoked fierce reactions from the side of the French-speaking students and from Belgian-nationalist organisations. The name was changed to Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond (KVHV) (tr.: Catholic Flemish Students' Union). A clash between some Flemish and Walloon students at the end of the Grand Dutch Student Congress in april 1924 in Leuven resulted in the shooting of the Flemish student Berten Vallaeys. On 3 May 1924, Rector Paulin Ladeuze issued a ban on holding political meetings. When KVHV-praeses Paul-Felix Beeckman protested against this measure "which seemed to be directed exclusively against the Flemish students" he received the consilium abeundi. Gerard Romsée and Tony Herbert, members of the KVHV board, suffered the same fate in October 1924 when they refused to submit to the academic authorities. After an Alfons Depla-Berten Vallaeys tribute and a protest meeting, five other Flemish students were expelled in December. When, in February 1925, the KVHV called upon the Flemish population to boycott the KUL financially, they came into direct conflict with the bishops and was even dissolved by Rector Ladeuze on 10 March 1925.
Although the KVHV continued to exist, it lost credit in broad Catholic and Flemish public opinion. In the student movement itself, apart from a small group of minimalists, a number of nationalist students also took issue with the monopoly position of the all-controlling union leadership. When the Flemish-nationalist camp became more and more ideologically divided in the second half of the 1920s, the KVHV leadership in 1927-1928 almost fell into the grip of the extreme Greater Netherlandish vision of the magazine Vlaanderen, but swung back to a broad Flemish-nationalist platform. The Borms election in December 1928 led to demonstrations and street fights between Flemish and French-speaking students in Leuven. During the Christmas holidays, the parents of all Flemish students received a letter from Rector Ladeuze, demanding that the students commit themselves in writing to refrain from any separatist or anti-Belgian demonstration. KVHV president Seppe Coene urged the students to sign, although he himself refused and thus incurred the conscilium abeundi. This conflict brought new unity to the KVHV, which now started to pay more attention to the Dutchification of the university itself.
In 1929, Dr. Mon De Goeyse founded the Seniorenkonvent, which aimed, under the authority of the board of the Verbond, to strive for a stylish and civilised social life, and to organise the student component in union life in an orderly, uniform and colourful manner.
The Dutchification of Ghent University in 1930 and the consequent acceleration of the doubling of the Leuven University, as well as the departure of a number of radical students to Ghent, brought about an improvement in relations with the academic authorities. The Leuven student movement was reoriented under the influence of Catholic Action and the 'Revolution von Rechts, which was seen as a solution to the cultural crisis in which the "collapsing Occident" found itself. Piet Meuwissen (1932-1934), the spokesman for the Verbond, wanted to develop the KVHV into a united corporation of all Flemish students, which would train its members to become the "spiritual aristocracy of Flanders", the "academic class" that would take charge of society. The Verbond had a strong organisational development, but as a corporation that wanted to coordinate all tendencies, it could no longer prescribe a uniform ideology. A whole range of new right-wing political student associations emerged, all of which wanted to exert their influence in the KVHV, the most important being the Verdinaso student section, the VNV students and the Youth Front, which joined the Katholieke Vlaamsche Volkspartij (tr.: Catholic Flemish People's Party ). In the period 1937-1938, the Flemish-minded students set out with Flor Grammens to paint over French street name signs in Flemish towns. The Grammens campaign could only temporarily restore unity. The fact that relations between the Verbond and the academic authorities had improved during the 1930s became apparent when KVHV-praeses Herman Wagemans delivered a eulogy upon the passing away of rector Ladeuze in February 1940.
Second World War (1940-1944)
Although strictly speaking the KVHV's attitude was non-collaborative, because of the great VNV influence on the association during the first year of occupation, it became compromised in the eyes of most students. The executive committee of the Verbond in 1940-1941 sympathised with the New Order and changed the name KVHV to Leuvensch Studentenverbond. A lecture by Staf de Clercq for the VNV students in Leuven on 12 March 1941, sponsored by the Verbond, led to clashes between Flemish and Walloon students, during which the German Feldgendarmerie intervened. From 1941-1942, the KVHV explicitly distanced itself from the Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond (VNV), but the organisation of the Dietsche Studentencongres in March 1942 caused a conflict with the academic authorities. All this resulted in the fact that the Verbond lost its coordinating function and had to give up its leading role to the Hoogstudentenverbond voor Katholieke Actie (HVKA) (tr.: High Students' Association for Catholic Action). When, in 1942-43, there was also trouble with the occupying forces, whose nerves were plagued by the All-Dutch spirit of the Verbond (Ons Leven was no longer allowed to appear) and, moreover, the novices were put to work for six months, student life had become impossible. It was in this environment that the redesign of post-war student life was prepared. In 1944, despite British bombing raids, Sociale Hulp (tr.: Social Aid) organised a cultural evening, heralding post-war student life. That student life was again organised by some professors and students, who founded, among others, the Leuvens Studentengenootschap (LSG) (tr.: Leuven Student Association).
From loyal Belgian to Leuven Vlaams (1944-1968)
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With the liberation in 1944, a new Flemish student federation was established: the Leuvens Studentencorps (LSC), within which the KVHV as the largest student association also had its place. Influenced by unitarian flamingants such as Tony Herbert, the Verbond embarked on a course of loyalty towards Belgium. Carlos Gits (1944-1945), a member of the HVKA, stipulated that the KVHV should be responsible for the civic education of students, that is, for forming a Flemish elite that would take its rightful place in the Belgian state. In the Royal Question, an outspoken leopoldist point of view was taken, and after the dynamiting of the Yser Tower, a Youth Pilgrimage to Diksmuide was organised under the impetus of the KVHV, which, despite threats and opposition, took place on 28 April 1946. From 1946 to 1947 onwards, there was an increasing radical Flemish resistance to the Belgian-oriented course of the post-war Verbond leaders by students who wanted the KVHV to return to its pre-war Flemish-national tradition. They united in and around the popular art group De Kegelaar, which blamed the Verbond for leaning too closely on the Christian People's Party and for not daring or wanting to take a stand against the repression that was experienced as anti-Flemish. De Kegelaar went on to develop a large-scale operation of its own within the KVHV and succeeded, after the 'Easter Revolution of 1949', in getting the Verbond to steer a radical Flemish course once more.
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The Flemish defeat in the Royal Question (summer 1950), the tensions in Leuven with the rector and the French-speaking students concerning actions for amnesty (1949-1951) and the speech by Flor Grammens in Blanden (19 December 1952), which was forbidden by the academic authorities, contributed to the radicalisation and ensured that the KVHV again had a large following in the Leuven student world. With the Fosty-action (Fosty demonstration) of 23 October 1953, the Verbond proved that it was again playing a vanguard role in the Flemish Movement. In 1954-1955 the actions in the context of the school conflict pushed the Flemish element somewhat into the background, although the KVHV advocated a federalist solution to this conflict. The action in Leuven against the biased education law of minister Collard in March and October 1955 stimulated Catholic resistance throughout the country. The high point was the battle of city hall, which also housed the police station, by eleven students. Parades and demonstrations brought fights against the police, gendarmes and red squads, and for days a state of siege prevailed. During this turbulent period, the mortal remains of Jef Vanden Eynde were transported from Maastricht to Vlierbeek. In 1956, Rodenbach was commemorated and there was the relief action (blood and medicines) for the Hungarians whose uprising was bloodily suppressed by the Russian occupier. Students from all over the country demonstrated in front of the Russian Embassy in Brussels. The Verbond also started to pay attention to the socio-economic aspect of the Flemish disadvantage; in 1956, the group Walenwerking was founded, which organised recreational and information evenings for Flemish immigrants in Wallonia. With the campaign against the misrecognition of the Dutch language at the World Fair in 1958, the fierce amnesty battle in 1959 and the anti-language counting campaign (1959-1960), the KVHV played a pioneering role in the breakthrough that the Flemish Movement experienced in the early 1960s with the Marches on Brussels.
With the start of the 'linguistic decentralisation' of the university in 1962-1963 and the debates on the new language legislation, in which the French-speaking population demanded facilities in Leuven, the fight for Leuven Vlaams came to the fore. From 1964 onwards, the Verbond demanded the complete separation of the university and the transfer of the French-speaking section to Wallonia. At the top of the KVHV, a new generation arrived, which sought a synthesis between the Flemish Movement and the emerging student-syndicalism, and between 1963 and 1966 oriented the Verbond in a socially progressive direction. Federalism became a framework in which the whole Flemish problem was placed. Starting from a radical-democratic basic idea, federalism was linked to radical structural reforms in the socio-economic field (government control, nationalisation, planned economy). With this point of view, the KVHV was closely aligned with the Flemish Progressive Party, the Vlaamse Democraten, founded in 1965. From 1965-1966, the struggle for an autonomous, but also democratic Flemish university in Leuven gained momentum. On 15 December 1965, a national student demonstration was held under the slogan "Walen buiten". The declaration of the Belgian bishops of 13 May 1966 on the institutional and geographical unity of the university led to a surge of anti-authoritarian and anti-clerical sentiments. The revolt of May 1966 brought new student leaders (Paul Goossens, Ludo Martens, Walter de Bock) to the forefront, who started to follow a new-left and radical course aimed at a next confrontation that had to result in a democratic university. In December 1966, the radicals, led by Martens, decided that the traditional student movement was finished. On 3 March 1967, the Studentenvakbeweging (SVB) was founded as a working group within the KVHV. From then on, the SVB's priority was "the struggle against the capitalist system for a total democracy". The resistance of the Flemish supporters and the mistrust of the board of directors, who feared for the survival of the association, taught the SVB'ers that the KVHV with its traditional Flemish past was not the right breeding ground for a student union movement and in June 1967 they left the Verbond, followed in October by Verbond praeses Goossens. The expansion plans of the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) led to the January 1968 revolt. In February the government of Paul vanden Boeynants fell over the issue of Louvain and the split of the university was a fact.
The KVHV after 1968 (1968-Present)
Since after the split of the university, the Flemish issues no longer played a significant role, the Verbondhad to give up its leading role to the Studenten Vakbeweging (SVB), which became the driving force of a new-left student movement. The KVHV saw its number of active members drastically reduced, and the expanded organization of the Verbond underwent a major downsizing. The attempt of the praeses of the Verbond, Guido Ghekiere (1968-1970), to have the KVHV join the left-wing student movement by participating in the miners' strike in January 1970, met with resistance from the traditionalist wing. The latter finally took over in May 1970 and propelled the Verbond in a relatively conservative direction, although rather progressive social themes continued to hold the Verbond's attention for some time and more energy was put into cultural events than into Flemish action.
From 1973-1974 the KVHV began to emphasize more explicitly its old ideological role as a student union within the Flemish Movement. Under the influence of Volksunie politicians such as Willy Kuijpers, the Verbond adopted a popular nationalist position. This solidarity with the smaller peoples in Europe led in January 1974 to an active support of a hunger strike in French Basque country. Under the title A Federal Flanders in European and Popular National Perspective, the KVHV published its own model of state reform in December 1976, which was to be the precursor to its active participation in the Anti-Egmont Committee in 1977-1978. From a moderate anti-left association in the mid-1970s, the Verbond experienced a tug of war to the right in the early 1980s. The extreme left-wing counter-actions at Flemish demonstrations in Leuven, as well as the international tension between East and West at the time of the rocket issue, were not unrelated to this. After 1983 the KVHV evolved into a pragmatic and "positively critical" nationalism, whereby the actions for the federalisation of education in 1985-1987 focused on a concrete theme. From 1987, the party political polarization in nationalist ranks between Volksunie and Vlaams Blok also began to weigh on the Verbond. The KVHV had to deal with competition on its right flank from the [[[Nationalistische Studentenvereniging (NSV)]], whose activities at the Flemish-national level began to overshadow those of the Verbond. The new militancy of the non-partisan Flemish Movement under the impetus of a rejuvenated and radicalized Vlaamse Volksbeweging (VVB) (tr.: Flemish People's Movement) had its influence on the KVHV, which from 1990-1991 began to take a radical-Flemish course again and evolved in line with the VVB towards a separatist position. A new point of attention was the concern for the preservation of the Dutch language in the unifying Europe, as evidenced by the language contest "Simon Stevinpenning" (1989), the actions against a possible Englishification of higher education (1990-1993) and the Great Dutch Student Congress in Leuven in November 1992. Since 1992, Ons Leven argued for a neoconservative front formation approaching Flemish issues from a right-liberal perspective.
Colours
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The colours of the Leuven branch of the KVHV are Black, Yellow and Cyan.
Black and Yellow stand for the colours of Flanders, while Cyan refers to Leuven's Alma Mater.
Couleur
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Bands
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From 1903 onwards, we see Praeses bands appearing in photos of the Verbond board. This band consisted of a piece of cloth, whether or not embroidered, and was worn horizontally across the chest by means of strings under the jacket.
In 1907, Jef Vanden Eynde introduced membership bands , also known as club bands.
From the Second World War onwards the Praeses band as a sash as we know it now slowly makes its appearance. In the "Decrees of the Seniorenkonvent" the form and dimensions of club and praeses bands were determined. A members band had to be 27 mm wide and 1.20 m long. In reality, the band is adjusted to the wearer. According to these decrees, the Senior band, also called Praeses sash, has a standard length of 2.10 metres and a width of 12 centimetres. It is held together at the bottom with a gold or silver cord and has gold or silver fringes at the ends. The Senior band can have the club shield embroidered on it at will, which should be 10.5 by 9 centimetres and located 23 centimetres from the shoulder seam, in the direction of the stripes. Originally, the horizontal breast bands remained in use; they would only disappear completely in the 1960s.
At the KVHV-Leuven the bands are black, yellow and cyan with gold details. Initiated members wear their band over the right shoulder, while the Novices wear it over the left shoulder. The Novice master wears two crossed ribbons.
The Praeses wears a Praeseses sash as described above over the right shoulder.
Caps
In 1907, Jef Vanden Eynde introduced the Gildepet and band, with a specific colour for each individual guild. It was only in 1908 that the guilds agreed to adopt a single form.
This cap is almost identical to the German model. When Jef Van den Eynde brought the play "Alt Heidelberg" to Leuven in 1905, in which a number of German students featured "plenis coloribus", this caused a great deal of enthusiasm among Leuven's student population and he decided to introduce these couleur articles. On his own initiative, he bought up the entire stock of caps and ribbons from 'Couleurhersteller' Carl Roth in Würzburg, and on a Tuesday in February 1907 he distributed them among the students. Each guild thus received its own colour. Here, too, it was customary to apply Year stars and Faculty symbols.
After the First World War, everything German was removed from the streetscape. The Gildepet, which was imported directly from Germany, was no exception. The academic authorities announced the day after the reopening of the University of Leuven that the German caps were banned. The Verbond replaced them with the Flat, which means "Cowpie".
This hat was based on the French "Faluche", a large black drooping beret with a band at the bottom. The Flemish students chose a burgundy beret, with a band in the colours of the faculty or association to which they belonged. Annual stars and a faculty symbol were often placed on the cap. A shield with the Flemish lion was also often placed on the crown.
In 1932, the golden years of Jef Vanden Eynde were revisited and the so-called Verbondspet was introduced. This cap was very similar to the cap that was common until 1914, and replaced the Flat.
This cap is similar in design to the German cap: a headpiece with a band at the bottom in the colours of the Couleur and a black visor. However, the fabric of the head piece of the Verbondspet is much more flexible than that of its German counterpart. The colour of the main part was taken over from the Flat, namely burgundy. One of the possible reasons for this change was that the Flat was difficult to take off and put on again with one hand. People always carried a stick and bookbag with them, which left them with only one hand free. These caps are still worn by members of the KVHV today.
Song
Text and Melody: Jef Vanden Eynde
Remarks:
- 1929: Recorded by Joz Hendrix
- 1954: Re-arranged by Emiel Hullebroeck
.
- 't Leuvens Vlaams studentenvolk
Heft zijn fier verbondslied aan,
Stapt door storm en onweerswolk,
Recht vooruit zijn zegebaan
Koen wil het zijn wegen gaan
Met zijn kruis en leeuwen vaan
- Chorus:
- Vooruit! Vooruit!
- Hoog nu de Vlaamse vane!
- Leeuw, klauw voorop on ons feest, in ons stoet
- Vlaams dreune 't lied langs de bane
- Vlaams mint ons hart, Vlaams roept ons bloed
- Vlaams dreune 't lied lans de bane
- Vlaams roept ons bloed
- Chorus:
- Dicht gesloten in de rij
Stappen wij en strijden wij
Nutten gretig 't wijze woord,
Voelen diep 't bezield akkoord
Reiken uit gans Vlaanderland
Aan elkaar de broederhand
- Eigen lied zingt nachtegaal
In de groene lenteblâan
Vlaams alleen is Vlamings taal
Op zijn brede levensbaan
En vergt God of Land ons kracht
Hier stapt Vlaandrens jonge wacht
List of Praesides
| Year | Praeses |
|---|---|
| 1901 - 1902 | Emiel Vermeersch (Roeselaarse Club) Because the election happened at the end of the academic year, there were no activities yet. |
| 1902 - 1903 | Jozef Vermeylen (Antwerpse Gilde (Leuven)) |
| 1903 - 1904 | Leo Thienpont (Oudenaardse Club) |
| 1904 - 1905 | Leo Spaas (Limburgse Gilde (Leuven)) |
| 1905 - 1906 | Jef Vanden Eynde (Meetjesland) |
| 1906 - 1907 | Jef Vanden Eynde (Meetjesland) |
| 1907 - 1908 | Arthur Poodt (Brabantse Gilde (Leuven)) |
| 1908 - 1909 | Alfons Degroeve (Brugse Club) Lodewijk Van Boeckel (Antwerpse Studentenkring) |
| 1909 - 1910 | The Verbond, in conflict with the academic authorities has been abolished. The guilds perpetuate it by inviting each other to their meetings. |
| 1910 - 1911 | Jef Verduyn (Tieltse Club) |
| 1911 - 1912 | Theofiel Ghoos (Heidebloem) |
| 1912 - 1913 | Frans Willems v/o Sus (Payottenland) |
| 1913 - 1914 | Henri D'Haese v/o Rik (Oudenaardse Club) |
| 1914 - 1915 | Verbond dissolved due to German occupation. |
| 1915 - 1916 | Verbond dissolved due to German occupation. |
| 1916 - 1917 | Verbond dissolved due to German occupation. |
| 1917 - 1918 | Verbond dissolved due to German occupation. |
| 1918 - 1919 | Aloïs Stroobandt v/o Wiesten (Tieltse Club, Fanfare)
1919 - 1920 = Albrecht Pil v/o Berten (Westland) |
| 1920 - 1921 | Jan Valvekens (Ons Hageland) |
| 1921 - 1922 | Andries Devos v/o Dries (Roeselaarse Club) |
| 1922 - 1923 | Gerard Iserbyt v/o Rarden (Kortrijkse Club, Fanfare)) |
| 1923 - 1924 | Gerard Iserbyt v/o Rarden (Kortrijkse Club, Fanfare)) |
| 1924 - 1925 | Paul Beeckman |
| 1925 - 1926 | Jef Muys (Rupelgalm) |
| 1926 - 1927 | Leopold Van Houteghem v/o Pol (Oudenaardse Club) |
| 1927 - 1928 | Geert De Rycker (Elected, but received the consilium abeundi before the start of the academic year.) Jozef Custers (Limburgse Gilde, Fanfare) |
| 1928 - 1929 | Jozef Coene v/o Seppe (Kortrijkse Club) |
| 1929 - 1930 | Frans Wildiers Nant Vercnocke |
| 1930 - 1931 | Bob Fransman |
| 1931 - 1932 | Stanny Boutens (Oostendse Club) |
| 1932 - 1933 | Piet Meuwissen |
| 1933 - 1934 | Piet Meuwissen |
| 1934 - 1935 | Eugeen Mattelaer (Kortrijkse Club) |
| 1935 - 1936 | Michiel Verkinderen (Meense Club, Kortrijkse Club) |
| 1936 - 1937 | Achiel Cornelissen (Heidebloem, Fanfare) |
| 1937 - 1938 | Karel Goddeeris (Kortrijkse Club) |
| 1938 - 1939 | Wim Aelvoet (Noord-Brabant) |
| 1939 - 1940 | Herman Wagemans |
| 1940 - 1941 | Fons Geussens (Heidebloem) |
| 1941 - 1942 | Remi Piryns (Ros Beyaert) |
| 1942 - 1943 | Michel de Brabanter |
| 1943 - 1944 | Jaak Van Waeg (Bezem Brussel) |
| 1944 - 1945 | Carlos Gits (Izegemse Club) |
| 1945 - 1946 | Renaat Goffin (Brabantse Gilde) |
| 1946 - 1947 | Marc Van Coppenolle (Oudenaardse Club) |
| 1947 - 1948 | Roger Ooghe (Mandel Club, Elected, but resigned after an hour because he had promised the academic authorities never to become a Praeses of the Verbond under penalty of the consilium abeundi.) Roger Fieuw (Mandel Club) |
| 1948 - 1949 | Gerrit De Backer Hector Carlier (Izegemse Club) |
| 1949 - 1950 | Luc Verstraete (Oudenaardse Club) |
| 1950 - 1951 | Jef Den Haerynck |
| 1951 - 1952 | Toon Pennings (Heidebloem) |
| 1952 - 1953 | Rik Seghers (Ros Beyaert) |
| 1953 - 1954 | Jaak Van Passel (Sinjoria) |
| 1954 - 1955 | Jaak Van Passel (Sinjoria) |
| 1955 - 1956 | Jan Flamey (Meense Club) |
| 1956 - 1957 | Werner Engels (Sinjoria) |
| 1957 - 1958 | Jos Mees (Rupelgalm) |
| 1958 - 1959 | Piet Custers (Katholiek Studentencorps (KSC)) |
| 1959 - 1960 | Wilfried Martens (Meetjesland) |
| 1960 - 1961 | Luk Delanghe |
| 1961 - 1962 | Luk Delanghe |
| 1962 - 1963 | Herman Pelgroms |
| 1963 - 1964 | Tony Dieusart |
| 1964 - 1965 | Gaby Vandrommen (Mandel Club) |
| 1965 - 1966 | Tom Swartelé (Hesbania) |
| 1966 - 1967 | Herwig Langohr ( Resigned at the beginning of the academic year.) Paul Goossens |
| 1967 - 1968 | Paul Goossens ( Resigned at the beginning of the academic year.) Jef Dauwe (Ros Beyaert, Payottenland |
| 1968 - 1969 | Guido Ghekiere (Katholiek Studentencorps (KSC)) |
| 1969 - 1970 | Guido Ghekiere (Katholiek Studentencorps (KSC), Deposed on 27 January 1970 and replaced by the quadriplegic Paul Stulens, Bart Demey, Fernand Huts and Ludwig van Herbrugge. Ghekiere considered himself still as KVHV-praeses the rest of the year.) |
| 1970 - 1971 | Pol Stulens |
| 1971 - 1972 | Fernand Huts |
| 1972 - 1973 | Jan Coch |
| 1973 - 1974 | Herman D'Espallier |
| 1974 - 1975 | Luc Ghesquière (Meense Club, Fanfare) |
| 1975 - 1976 | Jo Roelants |
| 1976 - 1977 | Jan Dederen |
| 1977 - 1978 | Ludo Vanoppen |
| 1978 - 1979 | Ludo Vanoppen |
| 1979 - 1980 | Jo Celis |
| 1980 - 1981 | Erik Nobels (Mechlinia-Reynaert, Geelse Club) |
| 1981 - 1982 | Erik Nobels (Mechlinia-Reynaert, Geelse Club) |
| 1982 - 1983 | Mark Vanvaeck |
| 1983 - 1984 | Luk Collet |
| 1984 - 1985 | Filip Martens (Katholiek Studentencorps (KSC)) |
| 1985 - 1986 | Filip Martens (Katholiek Studentencorps (KSC)) |
| 1986 - 1987 | Walter Vits (Ons Hageland) |
| 1987 - 1988 | Luc Vanlouwe (Westland) |
| 1988 - 1989 | Steven Vandeput |
| 1989 - 1990 | Johan Bruyninckx (Ons Hageland, Noord-Brabant, Lovania) |
| 1990 - 1991 | Wim Vander Donckt |
| 1991 - 1992 | Koen Kennis |
| 1992 - 1993 | Koen Lenssens |
| 1993 - 1994 | Janklaas Gillis (Ons Hageland, Fanfare) |
| 1994 - 1995 | Janklaas Gillis (Ons Hageland, Fanfare) |
| 1995 - 1996 | Joris Fonteyn |
| 1996 - 1997 | Hans Michiels (Ros Beyaert, Fanfare) |
| 1997 - 1998 | Frederik Pieters (Sinjoria) |
| 1998 - 1999 | Vic Mortelmans |
| 1999 - 2000 | Tom Peeters (Ons Hageland, Endivia; Resigned at the beginning of the academic year.) Karolien Baeyens (Endivia); Statutory interim praeses until the appointment of Jochen Van Aalst. Jochen Van Aalst |
| 2000 - 2001 | Jochen Van Aalst (Was elected by mistake as a joke candidate. He resigned immediately and a re-election followed.) Frederik Tirez |
| 2001 - 2002 | Filip De Cauwer (Endivia) |
| 2002 - 2003 | Koen Bosquet (Katholiek Studentencorps (KSC)) |
| 2003 - 2004 | Thomas Beelen |
| 2004 - 2005 | Wim Vermeulen |
| 2005 - 2006 | Roeland Goorts (Ons Hageland) |
| 2006 - 2007 | Bram Hermans (Sinjoria) |
| 2007 - 2008 | Bram Hermans (Sinjoria) |
| 2008 - 2009 | Maarten De Troyer (Ons Hageland) |
| 2009 - 2010 | Maarten De Troyer (Ons Hageland) |
| 2010 - 2011 | Hans Pieters (Hesbania) |
| 2011 - 2012 | Jeroen Van Dyck (Ons Hageland) |
| 2012 - 2013 | Mathias Supply (Ons Hageland) |
| 2013 - 2014 | Bart Verhaegen |
| 2014 - 2015 | Olivier Persyn (Lovania, Geelse Club) |
| 2015 - 2016 | Torben Gering |
| 2016 - 2017 | Jomi Verwimp (Geelse Club; Resigned on 20 February 2017.) Olivier Persyn (Lovania, Geelse Club; Statutory interim president, confirmed on 27 February 2017.) |
| 2017 - 2018 | Maxime Goris |
| 2018 - 2019 | Athur Heymans v/o Kaiser (Ons Hageland) |
| 2019 - 2020 | Brecht Crabbe v/o Mozart (Fanfare) |
| 2020 - 2021 | Brecht Crabbe v/o Mozart (Fanfare) |
| 2021 - 2022 | Sam Stenuit v/o Strijder |
| 2022 - 2023 | Steven Van Malderen v/o Zucht |
Sources
- KVHV Leuven, Studentencodex, Belgium, Leuven, 1959.
- KVHV Leuven, Studentencodex, Belgium, Leuven, 2007.
- KVHV Leuven, Studentencodex, Belgium, Leuven, 2015.
