Alfons Siffer

Alfons Frederik Siffer (21 March 1850 – 3 March 1941) was a Belgian politician and publisher of Catholic works, including the cultural reviews Het Belfort and Le Magasin littéraire et scientifique.

Life Siffer was born in Zomergem on 21 March 1850 and studied at the diocesan secondary schools in Eeklo, Oudenaarde and Sint-Niklaas. He briefly attended the Catholic University of Leuven, and qualified as a notary in Ghent. In 1875 he was a co-founder of the Davidsfonds in Ghent, serving as chair 1910–1930. He was an active fundraiser for Catholic schools and for local libraries throughout his life. On 14 January 1879 he married Marie Virginie Fierlefeyn. They had three children.

With capital from his wife's half-sister, Sophie Léliart, he set up in business as a book dealer and publisher, supplying textbooks for Catholic schools, annuals and bulletins for clubs and societies, luxury albums, specialist journals and newspapers. In 1912 he was elected to the Belgian parliament for the constituency Ghent-Eeklo, and spoke in support of the use of Dutch in public life and in the army. Under the German occupation of Belgium during World War I he publicly distanced himself from the "activists" calling for an independent Flanders.