Pierre Harmel

Last updated

French pronunciation: [pjɛʁaʁmɛl] ; 16 March 1911 – 15 November 2009) was a Belgian lawyer, Christian Democratic politician and diplomat. Harmel served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1965 to 1966.

Contents

Early life

He was born in Uccle, son of father Charles Harmel and mother Eusibie André. [1] He studied law at the University of Liège (Liège), where he obtained the titles of Doctor of Laws and Master of Social Science in 1933. During his studies, he was active in the Association catholique belge, of which he became the chairman in 1938.

Mobilized in 1940, he took part in the 18 days Campaign. In 1947, he was appointed professor of Law at the University of Liège.

Political career

Early political career

Member of the PSC-CVP since its creation in 1945, Harmel was elected deputy for the first time in the parliamentary elections of 17 February 1946. He would keep his seat without interruption until 1971.

Harmel represented Belgium at the fourth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1949. He subsequently was member of several governments in the 1950s and 1960s.

School War

During his period as Minister of Education (8 June 1950 until 22 April 1954), Harmel increased the wages of teachers in private (i.e. Catholic) schools and introduced laws linking the subsidies for private schools to the number of pupils. These measures were perceived by the secularists (i.e. the anti-clerical Liberals and Socialists) as a declaration of war. When the 1954 elections brought to power a coalition of Socialists and Liberals, the new Education Minister, Leo Collard, immediately set out to reverse the measures taken by his predecessor, sparking mass protests by the Catholic bloc. A compromise was eventually found by the next government (a Catholic minority government led by Gaston Eyskens), and the "School War" was concluded by 6 November 1958 School Pact. André Molitor was one of the chief architects of the school pact.

Minister of Justice, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs

Harmel was Minister of Justice in the second government led by Gaston Eyskens (23 June 1958 – 6 November 1958), and then Minister of Culture (6 November 1958 – 3 September 1960) and Minister of the Civil Service (3 September 1960 – 25 April 1961) in the third Eyskens cabinet.

Prime Minister of Belgium from 28 July 1965 until 19 March 1966, Harmel led a coalition comprising Christian Democrats and Socialists. Finally, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Liberal-Christian Democratic coalition led by Paul Vanden Boeynants (19 March 1966 – 7 February 1968). As Foreign Minister he chaired the opening meeting of the enlargement negotiations between the EEC and the four applicants for Community membership in June 1970. Indeed, Harmel's opening statement to the enlargement conference has since formed the basis of the Community opening position for future enlargement discussions.

Pierre Harmel in 1967 Pierre Harmel - 36092X5X22.JPG
Pierre Harmel in 1967

Harmel Doctrine

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, he submitted a report titled "Future Tasks of the Alliance" to the NATO council of ministers. [2] The report, which was approved by the council in December 1967, contained the so-called "Harmel Doctrine". [3] It advocated a strong defence combined with good diplomatic relations with the countries of the Warsaw Pact. The Harmel Doctrine helped to pave the way for the East-West détente of the early 1970s, which led to the 1975 Helsinki Summit and the creation of the OSCE. [4] [5] Harmel himself visited several Warsaw Pact countries.

Later career

After 25 years in the Chamber of Deputies, Harmel was Senator from 1971 until 1977. He was made a Minister of State from 1973. In 1988, he was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Catholic University of Louvain, and in 1991, was raised into the Belgian nobility by King Baudouin with the hereditary title of Count Harmel (Dutch: graaf Harmel).

Personal life

Harmel was married to Marie-Claire Van Gehuchten from 22 May 1946. Together they had 6 children, four sons and two daughters. [1] Harmel died on 15 November 2009 at the age of 98. His wife died in 2018. [6]

Honours

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul-Henri Spaak</span> Belgian politician (1899–1972)

Paul-Henri Charles Spaak was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman. Along with Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer he was a leader in the formation of the institutions that evolved into the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul van Zeeland</span> Belgian lawyer, economist, Catholic politician and statesman

Paul Guillaume, Viscount van Zeeland was a Belgian lawyer, economist, Catholic politician and statesman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaston Eyskens</span> Belgian prime minister (1905–1988)

Gaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens was a Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Eyskens</span> Belgian politician

Marc Maria Frans, Viscount Eyskens, known as Mark Eyskens, is a Belgian economist, professor and politician in the Christian People's Party, now called Christian Democratic and Flemish, and briefly served as the prime minister of Belgium in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NATO Double-Track Decision</span> Armament resolution by NATO

The NATO Double-Track Decision was the decision by NATO from December 12, 1979, to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. It was combined with a threat by NATO to deploy more medium-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe after the Euromissile Crisis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Théo Lefèvre</span>

Théodore Joseph Albéric Marie "Théo" Lefèvre was a lawyer at the Ghent court of justice. In 1946 he became deputy of the Belgian parliament for the PSC-CVP. Between 25 April 1961 and 28 July 1965 he was the prime minister of Belgium.

Gaston C. S. A. Geens was a Belgian politician and minister-president of Flanders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Van Houtte</span> Belgian politician

Jean (Jan) Marie Joseph, Baron Van Houtte was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1952 to 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1958 Belgian general election</span>

General elections were held in Belgium on 1 June 1958. The result was a victory for the Christian Social Party, which won 104 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 53 of the 106 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 93.6% in the Chamber election and 93.7% in the Senate election. Elections for the nine provincial councils were also held.

Léo Pétillon was a Belgian colonial civil servant and lawyer who served as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo (1952–58) and, briefly, as Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi (1958).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Social Party (Belgium, 1945)</span> Political party in Belgium

The Christian Social Party was a major centre-right political party in Belgium which existed from 1945 until 1968.

Piet Vermeylen, was a Belgian lawyer, and socialist politician and minister. He was the son of the Flemish politician August Vermeylen.

Count of Harmel is a title of nobility of the Kingdom of Belgium. The title was created by King Baudouin for Pierre Harmel, who was a well-known Belgian lawyer, politician and diplomat, and served for eight months as Prime Minister of Belgium. As Foreign Minister, he created NATO's so-called "Harmel Doctrine" that advocated a strong defense combined with good diplomatic relations with the countries of the Warsaw Pact. King Baudouin made Harmel a Count in 1991. The title is hereditary and descends to the senior male by agnatic primogeniture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal question</span> 1950 Belgian political crisis

The royal question was a major political crisis in Belgium that lasted from 1945 to 1951, coming to a head between March and August 1950. The question at stake surrounded whether King Leopold III could return to the country and resume his constitutional role amid allegations that his actions during World War II had been contrary to the provisions of the Belgian Constitution. It was eventually resolved by the abdication of Leopold in favour of his son King Baudouin in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second School War</span> Political crisis in Belgium over the issue of religion in education

The Second School War was a political crisis in Belgium over the issue of religion in education. The conflict lasted between 1950 and 1959 and was ended by a cross-party agreement, known as the School Pact, which clarified the role of religion in the state. It followed a crisis over the same issue in the 19th century, known as the First School War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert De Vleeschauwer</span> Belgian politician

Albert De Vleeschauwer, later Baron Albert De Vleeschauwer van Braekel, was a Belgian politician of the Catholic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Wigny</span> Belgian politician

Pierre Wigny was a Belgian politician of the Christian Social Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of NATO</span> History of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

The history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) begins in the immediate aftermath of World War II when British diplomacy set the stage to contain the Soviet Union and to stop the expansion of Soviet power in Europe. The United Kingdom and France signed, in 1947, the Treaty of Dunkirk, a defensive pact, which was expanded in 1948 with the Treaty of Brussels to add the three Benelux countries and committed them to collective defense against an armed attack for fifty years. The British worked with Washington to expand the alliance into NATO in 1949, adding the United States and Canada as well as Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. Greece and Turkey joined in 1952, West Germany joined in 1955, Spain joined in 1982, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined in 1999, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined in 2004, Albania and Croatia joined in 2009, Montenegro joined in 2017, North Macedonia joined in 2020, and Finland joined in 2023.

Events in the year 1955 in Belgium.

Events in the year 1966 in Belgium.

References

  1. 1 2 Pierre Harmel (1911–2009) – website ODIS ( Dutch language )
  2. ↑ Trakimavicius, Lukas. "NATO at 70: Lessons from the Cold War". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  3. ↑ Trakimavicius, Lukas. "NATO at 70: Lessons from the Cold War". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Trakimavicius, Lukas. "NATO at 70: Lessons from the Cold War". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "How the Harmel Report Helped Build the Transatlantic Security Framework". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Weber, Bruce (18 November 2009). "Pierre Harmel, Belgian Who Helped Reshape NATO, Dies at 98". The New York Times.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "HARMEL".
The Count Harmel
Pierre Harmel 1965.jpg
Harmel in 1965
Prime Minister of Belgium
In office
28 July 1965 –19 March 1966
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Belgium
1965–1966		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Senate
1973–1977		Succeeded by
Belgian nobility
New creation Count Harmel
1991–2009		Succeeded by
Roger Harmel
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.