Bernard Anselme

Bernard Anselme (born November 3, 1945 in Mouscron , Hainaut ) is a Belgian politician of the Parti Socialiste (PS), who was, among other things, Prime Minister of the Walloon Region and the French Community of Belgium .

Life

Trade union official, member of parliament and state secretary

After attending grammar school ( Athénée ) in Bastogne from 1957 to 1960, he switched to the humanistic grammar school in Namur in 1960 and graduated in 1963. He then completed a degree in political science , international relations and administrative science at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), which he completed in 1968 with a licentiate .

During his school and university and of André Renard in Liege and André Genot listed in Namur big strikes he was involved in the youth organization of the Confederation of Trade Unions Fédération générale du travail de Belgique / Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond (FGTB / ABVV). There he was first vice-secretary from 1964 to 1968, then briefly as secretary and finally from 1968 to 1970 president of the youth association of the FGTB / ABVV. In addition, he was an active member of the youth association of the Walloon People's Movement ( Mouvement populaire wallon ) and especially after the death of André Renard at the Congress of Walloon Action on March 23, 1963 in Namur, he campaigned for a Walloon national anthem with his own text and music.

After completing his studies, Anselme worked in the office of the ministers for communal relations, Freddy Terwagne and Fernand Dehousse, between 1969 and 1972 . From 1972 to 1977 he was advisor and secretary to Alfred Delourme , President of the Economic Council of the Walloon Region.

In 1977 he was elected for the first time as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Deputies , where he represented the Namur constituency . At the same time he was secretary of the Standing Committee of the Wallonia Socialist Party from 1977 to 1981 and in 1978 also became a member of the board of the Walloon Region Economic Council (CERW).

In April 1979 he became State Secretary for Affairs of Wallonia in the first government of Prime Minister Wilfried Martens and as such was attached to the then Minister Jean-Maurice Dehousse in the second Martens cabinet until 1980 . In 1981 he became President of the Wallonia Socialist Party and held this position until 1983.

As a member of the Walloon Parliament , Anselme, who was Secretary of the Cultural Council of the French Community of Belgium from 1982 to 1988, supported a draft law in November 1985 that provided for the establishment of Walloon authorities in Wallonia. At the same time, he advocated the choice of Namur as the capital of the region in order to emphasize Wallonia's independent identity compared to Brussels .

Prime Minister of Wallonia and the French Community of Belgium

On May 11, 1988, Anselme succeeded Guy Coëme as Prime Minister of the Walloon Region and held this post until he was replaced by Guy Spitaels on January 25, 1992.

As Prime Minister of Wallonia, he advocated the establishment of an employment office for the French community FORmation-EMploi (FOREM) and, in cooperation with the French community, agreed on the financing of certain tasks for the region. In addition, the Agence wallonne à l'Exportation (AWEX), the Walloon Foreign Trade Agency, was established, which made a number of foreign trade relations possible. In addition, a number of administrative bodies were built in Namur for political and administrative functions.

On January 7, 1992, Anselme Valmy Féaux followed as Prime Minister of the French Community of Belgium. He held this position until he was replaced by Laurette Onkelinx on May 6, 1993. In addition, he was appointed Minister of Social Affairs by Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene in his first government on March 7, 1992 and held this post until his resignation on January 23, 1994.

In January 1994 he returned to the Wallonia government, where he was Minister of the Interior for the region in the cabinet of Prime Minister Robert Collignon until July 1999 .

On January 1, 2001, he took over the office of Mayor of Namur and held this office until October 2006.

Web links

• Biography in Cent Wallons du siècle , Institut Jules Destrée, Charleroi, 1995
• Belgian Regions and Communities (rulers.org)