Etienne Ugeux

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Etienne Ugeux
Born1923
Died18 February 1998[1]
NationalityBelgian
Occupationjournalist
SpouseClaire Ugeux-Harms

Etienne Ugeux (1923 – 1998) was a Belgian journalist.

Career in the Congo

"An exceptional man, with a pure intellectual integrity, he wasn't manipulable by the

Great Lakes of Africa and elsewhere. As a witness to the worst horrors during the wars he reported on as a grand reporter for Le Soir
newspaper on the burning soil of the continent, he did not cease to hope that, finally, all Africans could regain their dignity lost several centuries ago, and this until his final breath."

Dominique Ugeux's reflection on his father Etienne[2]

Ugeux started his career at Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique, before moving to the colonial capital of the Belgian Congo, Léopoldville, in 1950.[3] Ugeux worked in the

He later became a colonial civil servant, serving as the director of information of the colonial government until independence on 30 June 1960.

Congo/Zaire. Ugeux helped him in his pursuit to become a journalist.[6]

Katangese Secretariat of State for Information

Eleven days after Congolese independence, the southern province of Katanga seceded under the lead of Moïse Tshombe and with covert Belgian backing. In October 1960, Belgian Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens and his Minister for African Affairs informed Ugeux that President of the newly independent State of Katanga Moïse Tshombe wanted him to become Chef de Cabinet of the newly appointed Secretary of State for Information Lucas Samalenge.[7][8] He left for Katanga's capital Élisabethville and accepted the position. His wife joined him a week later whereas their children stayed in Belgium.[9]

When Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and fellow imprisoned politicians Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito were sent to Katanga during the afternoon of 17 January 1961, Ugeux was at the Cinéma Palace movie theatre[10] with Samalenge and Tshombe at a screening of the Moral Re-Armament campaign when Tshombe was called to his residence.[11]

Journalistic career

On 21 July 1961, Ugeux left Katanga to become a journalist at the Belgian newspaper Le Soir.[12]

Family

Etienne was the brother of

Second World War,[13] and the father of Dominique Ugeux (1949 — 2019), cabinet member of Paul Vanden Boeynants, who had close ties with Mobutu.[14]

References

  1. ^ "DÉCÈS Etienne Ugeux, témoin d'Afrique pour "Le Soir"". Le Soir. Brussels. 19 February 1998. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  2. ^ Ugeux, Dominique (2017). Le Mobutu que j'ai connu: Témoignage. Editions Surprendre. p. 5.
  3. ^ "DÉCÈS Etienne Ugeux, témoin d'Afrique pour "Le Soir"". Le Soir. Brussels. 19 February 1998. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  4. ^ Ugeux, Dominique (2017). Le Mobutu que j'ai connu: Témoignage. Editions Surprendre. pp. 28–29, 32.
  5. ^ "DÉCÈS Etienne Ugeux, témoin d'Afrique pour "Le Soir"". Le Soir. Brussels. 19 February 1998. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  6. Le Vif
    . 2017-07-16. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  7. ^ Ugeux, Dominique (2017). Le Mobutu que j'ai connu: Témoignage. Editions Surprendre. p. 57.
  8. ^ Brassinne de La Buissière, Jacques. "Enquête sur la mort de Lumumba" (PDF). p. 27.3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021./
  9. ^ Ugeux, Dominique (2017). Le Mobutu que j'ai connu: Témoignage. Editions Surprendre. p. 57.
  10. ^ "DÉCÈS Etienne Ugeux, témoin d'Afrique pour "Le Soir"". Le Soir. Brussels. 19 February 1998. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  11. Belgian Chamber of Representatives
    . 16 November 2001. p. 377. Retrieved 12 January 2021. À l'arrivée des prisonniers, Tshombe ne se trouve pas à sa résidence mais il assiste à une séance cinématographique organisée par le « Réarmement moral » au cinéma Palace. Il est accompagné du secrétaire d'État Samalenge et du chef de cabinet de ce dernier, Ugeux. Entre 16 et 17 h Tshombe est rappelé et il se dirige vers sa résidence
  12. ^ Brassinne de La Buissière, Jacques. "Enquête sur la mort de Lumumba" (PDF). p. 27.3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021./
  13. ^ Dufour, Julien. "Inventaire succinct des papiers William Ugeux" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  14. Le Vif
    . 2017-07-16. Retrieved 2021-08-29.