André Cools
André Cools (born August 1, 1927 in Flémalle , † July 18, 1991 in Liège ) was a Belgian socialist politician who was murdered . His nickname was "Le maître de Flémalle", translated "The Master of Flémalle", a joking allusion to the (hypothetical) late medieval painter Robert Campin .
Life
Cools came from the Liège socialist labor movement and was also heavily influenced by Walloon regionalist currents.
He was Belgian budget minister from 1968 to 1971, vice- prime minister from 1969 to 1972, head of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1978 to 1981, president of the Walloon regional council from 1982 to 1985 and government minister in the Walloon region from 1988 to 1990. 1983 became awarded him the honorary title of Minister of State.
While the police were investigating the murder, many corruption scandals in which André Cools was involved, such as the Agusta affair , became public . Although the scandals led to the conviction of well-known Belgian politicians from the two socialist parties, such as the former ministers Willy Claes and Guy Spitaels , they were not connected with the murder of Cools.
In 1996, two Tunisians who shot Cools in Liège were caught. They were hired by members of the Sicilian Mafia and were sentenced to 20 years in prison in Tunis in 1998.
The investigation into those who commissioned the murder took much longer. The main suspect was former minister and PS politician Alain Van der Biest , who committed suicide in 2002 before the start of the murder trial. In January 2004, six people from the Van der Beast area were convicted of accessory to murder. Whether Van der Biest was actually the client is still controversial today.
In April 2020, investigators arrested a 71-year-old suspect in southern Italy who is believed to be linked to the murder. A spokesman for the Belgian Foreign Ministry confirmed media reports that the arrest took place in the small town of Veglie in the province of Lecce. Belgium had obtained a European arrest warrant against the man.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.wallonie-en-ligne.net/1995_Cent_Wallons/Cools_Andre.htm (French)
- ↑ DER SPIEGEL: Italy: suspect in the murder case André Cools arrested after almost 30 years - DER SPIEGEL - politics. Accessed April 30, 2020 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cools, André |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian socialist politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 1, 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Flémalle |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 18, 1991 |
| Place of death | Liege |