Armand De Decker (8 October 1948 – 12 June 2019) was a Belgian politician and member of the French-speaking liberal party

Mouvement Réformateur The Reformist Movement (, , MR) is a liberal French-speaking political party in Belgium, which includes social-liberal and conservative-liberal factions. Stemming from the Belgian Liberal Party founded in 1846, the MR is one of the oldest pa ...

(MR). De Decker studied law at the

Université libre de Bruxelles The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

and practised law. He was also mayor of

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

between 2006 and 2017. He died on 12 June 2019.

Political career

* In 1981 he was elected for the

Parti Réformateur Libéral The Liberal Reformist Party (, , PRL) was a liberal political party active in Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as ...

to 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 ...

where he served until 1995. * In 1995 he was elected to 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 ...

, and re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2010. ** From 1999 to 2003, and from 2007 to 2010, he was President of the Senate. ** Beginning in 2010, he was second vice-president of the senate. * He served as president of the council of the

Brussels-Capital Region Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...

from 1995 to 1999. * From 20 July 2004 to 12 July 2007, De Decker served as the minister responsible for

Development Cooperation Development aid (or development cooperation) is a type of aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. It is distinguished from humanitarian aid by ...

in the

Belgian Federal Government The Federal Government of Belgium ( ; ; ) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretaries of state ("junior", or deputy-ministers who do not sit in the Council of Ministers) drawn from the politi ...

. * Until 17 June 2017 he was mayor of Uccle.

Honours

National honours

* Grand Cross of the Order of Crown (6 June 2010) * Grand Cross of 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 ...

(11 May 2003) * Grand Officer of the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

(9 June 1999)

Foreign honours

* : Grand Officer of the Order of San Carlos (4 February 1997) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

(28 February 2002) ° * : Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all ...

(30 March 2004) ° * : Knight of the Order of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(9 July 1997) * : Grand Officer of the Order of the Phoenix (1er January 1994) * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

(15 October 2002) ° * : Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle () forms part of the Mexican Honors System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners. History It was created by decree on December 29, 1933, by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez as a reward to ...

(10 December 2002) ° * : Grand Cross of the

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livin ...

(20 May 2003) ° * : Grand Cross 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 ...

* : Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun (2006) * * : Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

(12 May 2000) ° * : Commander Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order o ...

(8 May 2001) °

Notes

External links

Sénat Belge, biographie

Senators Biography
2007, pp. 97–104 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:De Decker, Armand 1948 births 2019 deaths Ministers of state of Belgium Mayors of places in Belgium Reformist Movement politicians Presidents of the Senate (Belgium) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Legion of Honour Grand Commanders of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Vice-presidents of the Senate (Belgium) 20th-century Belgian politicians Politicians from Brussels Université libre de Bruxelles alumni