Paul de Keersmaeker
 Paul de Keersmaeker     ( businessman, brewer, politician) | ||||||||||||
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| Born | 14 July 1929 | |||||||||||
| Died | 16 December 2022 (Age 93) | |||||||||||
| Nationality | Belgian | |||||||||||
| Alma mater | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven | |||||||||||
| Party | Christian Democratic and Flemish | |||||||||||
Belgian businessman & politician who attended the 1992 Bilderberg meeting as outgoing Minister for European Affairs.
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Paul Philip Marie Hubert, baron De Keersmaecker was a Belgian brewer and politician. He attended the 1992 Bilderberg meeting as outgoing Minister for European Affairs.
Contents
Background
Paul De Keersmaeker was a son of Brewer Hubert de Keersmaeker and Josephina Vanderhasselt. He married Nelly Limbourg in 1955 and they had two daughters and a son.
Education
He studied classical humanities with the Jesuits at St. Joseph's College in Aalst. After taking a law degree at the Catholic University of Leuven, he became a lawyer. He was also active in the Family Brewery De Keersmaeker.
Political career
For the CVP, De Keersmaeker was elected in 1958 as a municipal councillor of Kobbegem, where he was mayor from 1959 to 1976. Then, after merger, he was mayor of Asse from 1977 to 1984.
From 1968 to 1995 he was a member of the Chamber of Representatives. He was a member of the Cultural Council for the Dutch cultural community from 1971 to 1980 and of the Flemish Council from 1980 to 1995. From 1979 to 1981 he also sat in the European Parliament.
In addition, De Keersmaeker was State Secretary for European Affairs and for Agriculture from 1981 to 1992 in several governments. In this position, he was present at the signing of the Schengen Treaty on June 14, 1985.
Later career
In 1992 he became a member of the Board of Directors of the Interbrew brewery,[1] of which he succeeded Jacques Thierry as chairman in 1994, a position he held until 2001, when Pierre Jean Everaert succeeded him.[2] he was also chairman of the Board of management of the Federation of Agricultural and Food Industries, Chairman of the Confederation of Breweries of Belgium (1992-1998) and member of the Bierconvent International Benelux.
In 1997, he also succeeded Marc Santens as chairman of the Kredietbank, which was transformed into KBC Bank, where he was a director since 1992.[3] He was also chairman of the boards of Directors of DOMO, Nestlé Belgilux (1998-2002) and Euler-COBAC,[4] director and chairman of the Strategic Committee of Tractebel, director of Vamo Mills (1992-1998),[5] Union Minière (later Umicore, 1992-2000), Meat & Food (1993-1995), Iris (1994-2004), Boortmalt (2001-2004), Lotus Bakeries, Afinia plastics and the Baillet Latour fund,[6] member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of Belgian Enterprises and member of the Advisory Board of Sibelco.
De Keersmaeker was also president of the Europalia Cultural Festival until 2009.[7] He was also European president of the Canada Europe Round Table for Business, member of the American European Community Association, Christian Academy for European Democracy, the Cercle de Lorraine, De Warande, the non-profit association club Atomium and the federalist B-Plus, member of the Council of Wise Men of the Royal Belgian Football Association, member of the general councils of the non-profit association Beschutte Werkplaats Asse and the Stichting Vlaams Erfgoed.
His son Bart was mayor of Asse from 1995 to 1998. He is the father-in-law of entrepreneur Tony De Pauw and was chairman of his real estate company WDP (1999-2002). Tribute
De Keersmaeker was inducted into the hereditary nobility with the personal title of baron in 1998.
In 2001, he received an honorary doctorate from Carleton University in Canada.[8]
In 2002 he received the Vlerick Alumni Award from the Vlerick Leuven Ghent Management School.
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1992 | 21 May 1992 | 24 May 1992 | France Royal Club Evian Evian-les-Bains | The 40th Bilderberg. It had 121 participants. |
References
- ↑ https://www.tijd.be/algemeen/algemeen/paul-de-keersmaeker-bij-interbrew/5093762.html
- ↑ https://www.tijd.be/algemeen/algemeen/everaert-wordt-nieuwe-voorzittervan-interbrew/5289411.html
- ↑ https://www.tijd.be/algemeen/algemeen/paul-de-keersmaeker-nieuwe-voorzitter-van-kredietbank/5199087.html
- ↑ https://www.tijd.be/algemeen/algemeen/muuls-vervangtde-keersmaeker-als-voorzitter-euler-cobac/5288588.html
- ↑ https://www.tijd.be/content/tijd/nl/mme-articles/50/94/50/5094501
- ↑ https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/blrde_20090713_001
- ↑ https://www.dvo.be/artikel/27956-europalia-international
- ↑ https://www.ab-inbev.com/content/dam/universaltemplate/ab-inbev/news/press-releases/public/2001/6/255-ENGLISH.pdf
