François Visine
François Visine (born September 24, 1922 in Haraucourt , France, † February 14, 1995 in Paris ) was a high-ranking French NATO official and founder of the Mérite Européen .
Life
François Visine grew up in Haraucourt, near Nancy in Alsace . During the Second World War he attended the Lycée Henri Poincaré in Nancy. After the war he also studied law and economics in Nancy. In addition to his two doctorates , he also received the “Prix Lucien Brocard”. Even in his student days, his great role model was Robert Schuman and he promoted the idea of a united Europe early on.
He started his career in 1951 as the main administrator in the “Economics and Finance” department of the international secretariat of NATO and also took on teaching assignments in Paris . In 1959, he became legal advisor to NAMSA (North Atlantic Maintenance and Supply Agency) . In 1960 he began working on an encyclopedia of Europe called “L'ABC de l'Europe” (the A and O of Europe). In 1966 he brought this encyclopedia to an association he founded with the name “Club de l'ABC de Europe”, based in Paris. The aim of the association was "to facilitate the perception of European reality by all suitable means and in particular to promote the creation and dissemination of all works of an encyclopedic nature about the developing Europe".
In 1967 the first volume of "L'ABC de l'Europe" appeared, which deals with political Europe. In the following year came the second volume on the legal situation in Europe. As part of the club, Visine created the “Mérite Européen”, an award for people who have made a contribution to a united Europe. It was first awarded in Paris in 1969. In the following years, the ABC appeared on the economy, technology and the military.
Visine is also moving to Luxembourg with NAMSA . In 1987 he left the service of NATO.
In 1969, the Mérite Européen Foundation was established as the successor to the club . It is a non-profit association under Luxembourg law. Its founders included well-known journalists as well as high-performing senior officials and staunch supporters of Europe.
Visine's friends were Abbé Pierre , Jacques Rueff and Antoine Pinay .
Awards
- Prix Lucien Brocard
- Member of the European Honorary Senate
- Officer of the Luxembourg Order of the Oak Crown
- Commander of the Luxembourg Order of Merit
Merit Medal Mérite Européen
See: Mérite Européen .
Web links
- Literature by and about François Visine in the catalog of the German National Library
- Short biography at the "Mérite Européen" foundation
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mérite Européen Foundation , “The Founder François Visine”, Mérite Européen Foundation, Luxembourg 2014, self-published by the Foundation, p. 8. Other sources who died after 1998: “Francois Visine” , accessed on May 31, 2019.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Visine, François |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French NATO official |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 24, 1922 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Haraucourt , France |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 14, 1995 |
| Place of death | Paris |