André Cools
André Cools | |
---|---|
Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium | |
In office 22 January 1969 – 26 January 1973 | |
Monarch | Baudouin |
Prime Minister | Gaston Eyskens |
Preceded by | Joseph-Jean Merlot |
Succeeded by | Willy De Clercq |
Minister for the Budget | |
In office 1968–1971 | |
Prime Minister | Gaston Eyskens |
Chairman of the Socialist Party | |
In office 1978–1981 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Guy Spitaels |
Co-President of the Belgian Socialist Party | |
In office 1973–1978 | |
Preceded by | Edmond Leburton |
Succeeded by | Party abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | 1 August 1927 Flémalle-Grande, Liège, Belgium |
Died | 18 July 1991 Liège, Liège, Belgium | (aged 63)
Manner of death | Assassinated |
Political party | Socialist |
Other political affiliations | Belgian Socialist (until 1978) |
Domestic partner | Marie-Hélène Joiret |
André H.P. Cools (1 August 1927 – 18 July 1991) was a Belgian politician and a senior figure within the Walloon
Political career
Cools had a long and distinguished political career. He was the Belgian budget minister from 1968 to 1971, Deputy Prime Minister from 1969 to 1972, head of the
Cools was noted for his pithy pronouncements. For example, when in 1984 he commented on who he thought the four greatest United States presidents had been, he said: 'Roosevelt, Roosevelt, Roosevelt and Roosevelt'.
His nickname was "Le maître de
Assassination and aftermath
He was shot dead in Liège in 1991.
While the police were investigating the assassination, several scandals involving André Cools became public (like the Agusta-affair).
In 2003, a Liège trial started, accusing Richard Taxquet (former personal chauffeur and secretary for Alain Van der Biest , a Parti Socialiste minister), Giuseppe "Pino" di Mauro, and others of involvement in the Cools murder. In January 2004, Taxquet and di Mauro were sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment.[3]
See also
- Belgian general strike of 1960–1961
- Belgian political scandals
- Parliamentary inquiries by the Belgian Federal Parliament
References
Works cited
- Wilsford, David (1995). Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-28623-0. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
Sources
- André Cools (in French)
External links
Media related to André Cools at Wikimedia Commons