Isidore Albert Maria Smets (6 June 1901 – 31 May 1976) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

trade union leader and politician. Born in

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

, Smets began working for the Union of Factory Workers when he was just sixteen years old, as secretary of its branch in his home town. In 1921, the union became part of the new

General Union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gen ...

, and Smets was appointed as the new union's secretary in Lier. He also worked for the

Union of Food and Hotel Workers Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Union ...

, and for the local co-operative. He joined the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, and served on Mechelen council from 1927 to 1932, then Lier council from 1933 to 1938. Smets was appointed as deputy general secretary of his union in 1937, and general secretary in 1938. He fled to the United Kingdom during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, organising the Belgian trade unionist in exile in the country, and also broadcasting on behalf of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. After the war, he returned to Belgium, winning election as president of the General Union in 1949. From 1954 to 1961, and again from 1965 to 1968, Smets served as a co-opted member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Through this, he served in 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 ...

, and was a vice-president in 1958. From 1960, he was the president of the International Federation of Building and Woodworkers, and he was also vice-president of the International Federation of Factory Workers. He retired in 1966, and died ten years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smets, Dore 1901 births 1976 deaths Belgian Labour Party politicians Belgian Socialist Party politicians Belgian trade unionists Members of the European Parliament for Belgium Members of the Senate (Belgium) MEPs for Belgium 1958–1979 Politicians from Mechelen