Louis Major

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Louis Major (born December 20, 1902 in Ostend , † February 19, 1985 in Antwerp ) was a Belgian trade unionist and politician.

Life

Louis Major was a member of the Belgische Werkliedenpartij and union secretary for the port workers in the province of West Flanders . From 1933 to 1938 he was a council member in the municipality of Ostend. In 1938 he was a board member of the "Belgische Transportarbeiders Bond" and the "Belgisch Vakverbond" (BVV). After the German invasion of Belgium , Major first fled to Sète in southern France, where he was able to help Hans Jahn escape. In a letter to the socialist Camille Huysmans , who fled into exile in London , he justified his decision to return to Belgium. He organized the trade union resistance in the country and, despite massive pressure, refused to cooperate with the German Labor Front in building up National Socialist trade union organizations in Belgium. He became a board member of the 1942 Belgian Socialist Party (BSP) , which was now an illegal workers' party. In Flanders, Major organized the distribution of the illegal trade union newspaper De Werker .

At the end of the war he organized the rebuilding of the Belgian socialist trade unions. From 1952 to 1968 he was union chairman of the Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond (ABVV) . In 1949 he was a co-founder of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and its vice-president. For the Belgian Socialist Partij BSP he was elected from 1946 to 1974 in the Antwerp constituency as a member of parliament. From 1968 to 1973 Major was Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in the federal government under Gaston Eyskens . In the European Community he was temporarily President of the Economic and Social Committee .

After finishing his political career he was appointed Minister of State on March 30, 1973 .

The Flemish writer Piet van Aken criticized him as an autocrat in 1983 in his novel De Goddemaers .

Fonts (selection)

  • Georges Keuwet; Louis Major: Verslag over de structuur van het ABVV by Georges Keuwet; Nota over de structuur van het ABBV door Louis Major: statutair congres 23-24-25 December 1945 Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond . Antwerp: Excelsior, 1945

literature

  • Herman J. Langeveld: Between wish and reality: the Belgian, Dutch and Westzonal German trade unions in the reconstruction phase, 1945-1951 . Netherlands Studies, Münster 1994

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Dieter Nelles: Resistance and international solidarity. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) in the resistance against National Socialism. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2001 ISBN 3-88474-956-0 , p. 330.
  2. ↑ Gjalt R. Zondergeld: Belgium , in: J. Herman Langeveld: Between Hope and Reality , 1994, p 292nd
personal data
SURNAME Major, Louis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian trade unionist and politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 20, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Ostend
DATE OF DEATH 19th February 1985
Place of death Antwerp