Philippe Moureaux

Philippe Moureaux (2016)

Philippe Moureaux (born April 12, 1939 in Etterbeek ; † December 15, 2018 ) was a Belgian politician of the Parti Socialiste (PS). Moureaux was a member of numerous federal governments from the 1980s and Prime Minister of the French Community . He was long-time mayor of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean / Sint-Jans-Molenbeek and also vice-president of the PS and chairman of the party's Brussels federation. After losing his seat in the local elections in Belgium in 2012, he announced his retirement from politics. Since 1995 he has held the honorary title of " Minister of State ".

Life

Philippe Moureaux was the son of the former Liberal Minister Charles Moureaux . He studied at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where he received his doctorate as “Docteur en philosophie et lettres”. Then worked as a historian and professor at the same university. Moureaux is a specialist in the Austrian Netherlands and has several scientific publications on this subject.

He was the ex-husband of Françoise Dupuis , the former socialist minister and speaker of parliament for the Brussels-Capital Region . His brother Serge Moureaux was also active as a local politician in Etterbeek , MP and senator for the PS. Philippe Moureaux has three daughters, of which Catherine Moureaux was elected to the Schaerbeek / Schaarbeek municipal council .

In June 2010, the then 71-year-old Philippe Moureaux, who was still in office as Mayor of Molenbeek at the time, married his 35-year-old partner Latifa Benaicha.

Political career

In contrast to his father, Philippe Moureaux opted for a political career with the Parti Socialiste (PS). From the beginning, Moureaux's political activities were linked to the institutional development and transformation of Belgium into a federal state .

When he took up his first office as Minister of Justice in the government of Wilfried Martens in 1980 , Moureau drew attention to himself through a law of July 30, 1981, henceforth known as the “Moureaux Law”. This law was the first in Belgium Racism and xenophobia made a criminal offense.

His influence during the second state reform in 1980, in which the French community was born as the successor to the French cultural community, was decisive. Thus, in 1981 he was sworn in as the first Prime Minister of this new institution. But it is above all the negotiation of the state reforms of 1988 and 1989, in which on the one hand the education system - one of the largest budget items in the country - was transferred to the communities, and on the other hand the Brussels-Capital region with its peculiarities that the delicate balance between French speakers and Dutch-speaking citizens in the capital, who made Moureaux advance as specialists in state reforms. It was therefore obvious that Moureaux sat at the negotiating table for all subsequent state reforms for the PS, including the search for a solution for the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency (BHV).

In the 1990s, Moureaux retired from his ministerial offices and focused on his career as parliamentarian and mayor of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean / Sint-Jans-Molenbeek . Moureaux, as the mayor of this municipality, which has a large number of people with a migrant background (mainly from Morocco and Turkey ), was an advocate of the right for non-European citizens to vote in local elections. The proposed law, which later became the law of March 19, 2004 granting foreigners the right to vote in municipal elections, also bears his signature.

Philippe Moureaux was also known in Belgian politics for taking particularly tough positions and uttering pithy sentences. For example, he described the liberal Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Didier Reynders ( MR ) as a right-wing extremist. During the negotiations on the future of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency, he was one of the few Francophone politicians who openly accepted a division of the constituency, which caused displeasure among various other Francophones.

After losing his mandate to Bernard Clerfayt ( FDF ) in the local elections in Belgium in 2012 , he withdrew from active politics.

Honors

Philippe Moureaux had been in command of the Order of the Leopold since December 3, 1987 and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II on May 19, 1995 . Since January 30, 1995 he was allowed to bear the honorary title of " Minister of State " and since May 19, 1995 he was an honorary member of the Belgian Chamber of Deputies.

He was also an honorary professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).

criticism

Moureaux's administration as mayor of Molenbeek came under fire, particularly in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015 in Paris , because radicalized Muslims from the district had played a leading role in the planning and execution.

Overview of political offices

• 1980: Minister of the Interior and Institutional Reforms in the Martens III government
• 1980–1981: Minister for Justice and Institutional Reforms in the Martens IV and M. Eyskens governments
• 1981–1995: Member of the Chamber of Deputies (partially prevented)
• 1981–1985: Prime Minister of the French Community
• 1983–2012: Member of the municipal council of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean / Sint-Jans-Molenbeek
• 1988: Prime Minister of the French Community
• 1988–1989: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Brussels Region and for Institutional Reforms in the Martens VIII government
• 1989–1991: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Brussels Region and for Institutional Reforms, charged with restructuring the Ministry of National Education in the Martens VIII government (after restructuring)
• 1991–1992: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Brussels Region and Institutional Reforms, tasked with restructuring the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of the Brussels Region in the Martens IX government
• 1992–1993: Minister for Social Affairs in the Dehaene I government
• 1992–2012: Mayor of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean / Sint-Jans-Molenbeek
• 1999–2014: directly elected senator

Fonts

• Truck system et revendications sociales in the sidérurgie luxembourgeoise du XVIIIe siècle . Brussels, Éd. de l'Institut de sociologie, 1968.
• Les Comptes d'une société charbonnière à la fin de l'Ancien Régime (La société de Redemont à Haine-St-Pierre - La Hestre) . Brussels, Palais des Académies, 1969.
• The préoccupations statistiques du gouvernement des Pays-Bas Autrichiens et le dénombrement des industries dressé in 1764 . Brussels, Éditions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 1971.
• La Soupière chinoise . Brussels, éditions Luc Pire, 2011.

Web links

Commons : Philippe Moureaux  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Profile of Philippe Moureaux on the Senate website (French)
• Philippe Moureaux on the website of the Parti Socialiste (French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lalibre.be: Moureaux s'en va: "La trahison est monnaie courante en politique" (October 16, 2012) (French)
2. ↑ See u. a. P. Moureaux, Les préoccupations statistiques du gouvernement des Pays-Bas autrichiens et le dénombrement des industries dressé en 1764 , Brussels, Editions de l'ULB, 1971.
3. ^ Philippe Moureaux a dit "oui" à Latifa , rtl.be, June 28, 2010 à
4. ^ Philippe Moureaux (71) trouwt met 35-year-old Latifa Benaicha , gva.be, June 28, 2010 à
5. ↑ Law of July 30, 1981 punishing certain acts based on racism or xenophobia ( BS August 8, 1981); An unofficially coordinated version in German is on the website ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( MS Word ; 102 kB) of the Central Office for German Translations can be viewed. 
6. ↑ Lalibre.be: Huit experts cherchent des solutions (January 16, 2009) (French)
7. ↑ See the bill as submitted to the Senate on July 3, 2003, Parl. Doc. Senate , Sess. 2003, No. 3-13 / 1; Available in French and Dutch on the Senate website .
8. ^ The law of March 19, 2004 was published in German on September 16, 2004 in the Belgian State Gazette; available on the website (PDF; 23 kB) of the State Council.
9. ↑ Lalibre.be: Moureaux classe Reynders à l'extrême-droite (June 22, 2008) (French)
10. ↑ Lalibre.be: Philippe Moureaux: "Oui, on scindera un jour BHV" (October 19, 2009) (French)
11. ^ Molenbeek: Merci Philippe! In: La Libre . November 17, 2015, accessed November 26, 2015 . 
12. ↑ 'Door het negationisme van Moureaux & co werd Brussel een kruitvat'. In: knack.be . November 22, 2015, accessed November 26, 2015 .