André Cools
André H.P. Cools (1 August 1927 – 18 July 1991) was a Belgian politician and a senior figure within the Walloon Socialist Party (PS) in the Liège region.[1] He was assassinated in 1991 and the subsequent investigation uncovered widespread graft within Belgium's two socialist parties.[2]
André Cools | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium | |
| In office 22 January 1969 – 26 January 1973 | |
| Monarch | Baudouin |
| Prime Minister | Gaston Eyskens |
| Preceded by | Joseph-Jean Merlot |
| Succeeded by | Willy De Clercq |
| Minister for the Budget | |
| In office 1968–1971 | |
| Prime Minister | Gaston Eyskens |
| Chairman of the Socialist Party | |
| In office 1978–1981 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Guy Spitaels |
| Co-President of the Belgian Socialist Party | |
| In office 1973–1978 | |
| Preceded by | Edmond Leburton |
| Succeeded by | Party abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 August 1927 Flémalle-Grande, Liège, Belgium |
| Died | 18 July 1991 (aged 63) Liège, Liège, Belgium |
| Manner of death | Assassinated |
| Political party | Socialist |
| Other political affiliations | Belgian Socialist (until 1978) |
| Domestic partner | Marie-Hélène Joiret |
Political career
Cools had a long and distinguished political career. He was the Belgian budget minister from 1968 to 1971, Deputy Prime Minister from 1969 to 1972, head of the Walloon section of the Belgian Parti Socialiste (PS) from 1973 to 1978, chairman of the national party from 1978 to 1981, president of the Walloon Council from 1982 to 1985, and minister of the government of the Walloon Region from 1988 to 1990. He was also given the honorific title of Minister of State in 1983. In 1990 he retired from the national political scene after an internal power struggle within the PS but he remained influential in the local party in Liège.[1]
Cools was noted for his pithy pronouncements. For example, when in 1984 he commented on who he thought the four greatest United States presidents had been, he said: 'Roosevelt, Roosevelt, Roosevelt and Roosevelt'.
His nickname was "Le maître de Flémalle" ("Master of Flémalle"). Cools had been mayor of Flémalle-Haute from 1964 to 1977 and after the merger with Flémalle from 1977 until his death.
Assassination and aftermath
He was shot dead in Liège in 1991.
While the police were investigating the assassination, several scandals involving André Cools became public (like the Agusta-affair).
In 2003, a Liège trial started, accusing Richard Taxquet (former personal chauffeur and secretary for Alain Van der Biest, a Parti Socialiste minister), Giuseppe "Pino" di Mauro, and others of involvement in the Cools murder. In January 2004, Taxquet and di Mauro were sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment.[3]
See also
References
- Wilsford 1995, pp. 70–76.
- Jeroen Maesschalck and Steven Van de Walle, "Policy failure and corruption in Belgium: Is federalism to blame?." West European Politics 29.5 (2006): 999-1017 online
- Maesschalck and Van de Walle, 2006.
Works cited
- Wilsford, David (1995). Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-28623-0. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
