Antoine Duquesne (; 3 February 1941 – 4 November 2010) was a Belgian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for the

French Community of Belgium In Belgium, the French Community (, , CFB) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (, , FWB), which is controversial because ...

with the MR/ MCC/ PRL, Member of the Bureau of the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; , ADLE) was a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party. ALDE had political ...

Career

In 1965, Duquesne became a Doctor of Law at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium founded in 1817 and based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French (language), French. History The university was foun ...

. From 1965 to 1971 he served as an assistant

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in the Faculty of Law of that university. He was a practising lawyer from 1965 to 1975 and again from 1988. From 1975 to 1977 he was Deputy Secretary-General of the National Committee for Training and Further

Training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

Trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

and Commerce. Frol 1977 to 1982 he served as general administrator of the National Committee for Coordination and Dialogue on Continuing

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

for Small Businesses and the French-Speaking Institute for Continuing Training for Small Businesses. From 1983 to 1988 he was the Director of the National Fund for Professional Credit.

Political career

From 1973 to 1987 Duquesne served as an advisor and chief of staff to various liberal state secretaries and ministers. In 1988 he was elected a member of the

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

Manhay Manhay (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 119.81 km², had 3,185 inhabitants, giving a population density of 26.6 inhabitants per km². The ...

and was reelected in 1994 and 2000. He served until his resignation in 2003. From 1995 to 1999 he also served as mayor of Manhay. From 1994 to 2004 he was Chairman of the MR Federation of the

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. From 1987 to 1988 Duquesne served as Minister of

. In 1988 Duquesne was elected a member of the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( ; ; ) is one of the two chambers of the Bicameralism, bicameral Belgian Federal Parliament, Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium), Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be ...

. In 1990 Duquesne was made President of the PRL. In

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Duquesne was elected as a member of the

Belgian Chamber of Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (; ; ) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered to be the "lower house" of the Federal Parliament. Members and elections Article 62 o ...

, re-elected in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, and concurrently for a time served as a member of the Walloon Regional Council and the French Community Council (1991–1995). During this time he served as Quaestor (1995), chairman of the Committee on Justice (1996–1999) and the Committee on Foreign Relations (1999) and vice-president of the Chamber of Representatives and chairman of the PRL-FDF parliamentary intergroup. In the

Verhofstadt I Government The Verhofstadt I Government was the Belgian Federal Government, federal government of Belgium from 12 July 1999 to 12 July 2003. It was the first government headed by Prime Minister of Belgium, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (Flemish Liberals ...

Antoine Duquesne served as the Federal

minister of the interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

(1999–2003). In 2003–2004 Duquesne served as President of the MR. In

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Duquesne was elected to the Senate once more, served as Chairman of the Senate's Committee on Agriculture and Small Businesses, but he resigned in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

upon election to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

, in which he served 2004–2009. He sat on the

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

and was a substitute for the

Committee on Constitutional Affairs The Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) is a committee of the European Parliament dealing with institutional matters such as revisions to the Treaties of the European Union, inter-institutional agreements, and the Parliament's internal rules ...

, a vice-chair of the Delegation for relations with

Mercosur The Southern Common Market (commonly known by abbreviation ''Mercosur'' in Spanish and ''Mercosul'' in Portuguese) is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full me ...

and a substitute for the delegation to the EU-

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Joint Parliamentary Committee. In 2006 Duquesne had a

cerebral infarction Cerebral infarction, also known as an ischemic stroke, is the pathologic process that results in an area of necrotic tissue in the brain (cerebral infarct). In mid to high income countries, a stroke is the main reason for disability among peo ...

which left him paralysed and unable to speak and which prevented him to fulfill his office of member of the European parliament for the remainder of his term or even to resign his mandate, as that formally required his signature, which he no longer was able to give.

Honours

* 1998 :

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

. * 1999 : Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold. * 2002 : Grand Officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

. * 2009 : Knight Grand Cross in the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

References

External links

Personal Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duquesne, Antoine 1941 births 2010 deaths Ministers of state of Belgium Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Mayors of places in Belgium MEPs for Belgium 2004–2009 People from Ixelles People from Manhay Politicians from Brussels University of Liège alumni Academic staff of the University of Liège