Jean Hamilius

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean Hamilius at a panel discussion in March 2015

Jean Hamilius (born February 5, 1927 in Luxembourg ) is a Luxembourgish athlete. After his sports career, he became a politician.

Early years

Jean Hamilius, the son of national soccer player Émile Hamilius , grew up in downtown Luxembourg and attended primary school. Then he went to the Athénée de Luxembourg , a secondary school .

After the occupation of the country by the German Wehrmacht in 1940, Hamilius was deployed as a Luftwaffe helper in the home flak . During this time he was active as a resistance fighter for the Luxembourg resistance organization Unio'n vun de Fräiheetsorganisatiounen . It was through this activity, after the liberation of Luxembourg by US troops in September 1944, Hamilius became a member of the militia and then worked as an interpreter for the 46th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Armored Division of the US Armed Forces.

From 1946 to 1950 Jean Hamilius attended the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management in Brussels and studied from 1950 to 1951 at Cornell University in Ithaca , USA.

Athletic career

During his studies in Brussels Hamilius worked as a track and field athlete. He specialized in the sprint and became a member of the CA Spora Luxembourg association. In a student competition in 1951 in Luxembourg, he finished in a 4 x 400 meter relay with Josy Barthel , Robert Schaeffer and Gérard Rasquin second behind the German relay.

In 1952 Jean Hamilius was appointed to the Luxembourg Olympic team. At the Helsinki Games , he started in the 400-meter run , but retired as the last of his prelim with a time of 50.75 s (hand-stopped 50.3 s). The Luxembourg 400-meter relay was also eliminated in the preliminary round. Together with his team mates Robert Schaeffer, Fred Hammer and Gérard Rasquin , he achieved a time of 3: 16.38 minutes and took 5th place.

In his club, Hamilius was also active as a hammer thrower. He was also engaged in skiing and diving.

Political career

In 1948 Jean Hamilius became a founding member of the youth organization Jeunesse démocrate et libérale . He became a member of the Groupement patriotique et démocratique , the predecessor organization of the Democratic Party .

In 1964 he ran for the DP in the parliamentary elections, but was not elected. In 1968 he managed to move into the Luxembourg parliament, the Chambre des Députés , as a member of the parliament . In 1974 Gaston Thorn took over the office of Prime Minister and appointed Hamilius Minister of Agriculture and Viticulture and Minister of Construction. Hamilius held this ministerial post until 1977. From 1976 to 1979 he was Deputy Foreign Minister. As Minister of Construction, he was jointly responsible for the renovation of Vianden Castle and the construction of the Kueb , a building for the European Parliament . In 1979 Jean Hamilius decided, instead of accepting a government post, to become a member of the Luxembourg delegation to the European Parliament.

At the local level, Hamilius was an advisor to the Luxembourg City Council. After the municipal elections of 1981 he refused to be elected mayor's aldermen . In 1984 he was re-elected as a member of parliament, but resigned in 1987.

Private and professional life

After completing his studies, Jean Hamilius was briefly a member of the Board of Directors of Luxair . Here he campaigned for the purchase of Fokker F-27 aircraft . At that time, Luxair did not have its own air fleet. At the same time he helped with the restructuring of the Lëtzebuerger Journal . In 1952 he worked for the steel group ARBED , where he was responsible for the production of Diddelenger Schmelz . Hamilius quit shortly afterwards and founded the company Réviseurs d'enterprise , a management consultancy , with three fellow students .

In his private life, Hamilius was a volunteer, a. a. at the American Luxembourg Society and at FC Avenir Beggen . He supported the choir of the Conservatory of Luxembourg City and the Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean .

In 2008 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg .

literature

  • Jean Hamilius: Luxemburg through the ages - memories (1927-2014) - Edition Guy Binsfels, 2015 ISBN 978-2-87954-290-4

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hamilius, Jean
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Luxembourg politician and athlete
DATE OF BIRTH February 5, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Luxembourg , Luxembourg