Eugène Jungers (1888–1958) was a Belgian colonial

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

and

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. Beginning his career in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

as a colonial magistrate, Jungers rose rapidly through the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

and became the colonial governor of the

League of Nations Mandate A League of Nations mandate represented a legal status under international law for specific territories following World War I, involving the transfer of control from one nation to another. These mandates served as legal documents establishing th ...

Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a geopolitical entity, once part of German East Africa, that was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under milit ...

from 1932 to 1946. In 1946, Jungers was further promoted to Governor-General of the Belgian Congo, the senior administrative position in the colony, which he held from 1946 to 1952.

Early life

Jungers was born in

Messancy Messancy (; ; ; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. Population On 1 January 2022 the municipality, had 8,339 inhabitants, giving a population density of 159.1 inhabitants per km2. Area The municipali ...

, a small Belgian town on the border with

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 ...

, on 19 July 1888 to a family of Luxembourgish ancestry. He studied 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 ...

, graduating with a

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in 1910. Joining the Belgian colonial service, Jungers arrived in the

in 1911 where he took up a position as junior magistrate. Posted around the colony, he quickly rose through the ranks of the colonial

. In 1924, he was made

resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceut ...

of Ruanda. In 1932, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Governor-General and was given responsibility for the Belgian

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

mandate of

(modern-day

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

and

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

), replacing Charles Voisin. He held the position until 1946; a tenure which included

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 ...

and the Ruzagayura famine of 1943–44. In 1946, Jungers was promoted as the replacement for Pierre Ryckmans as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo, the most important administrative position in the colony. He held the position until 1952 after which he took a board position at the Office des transports coloniaux (OTRACO). He received a

noble title Traditional rank amongst European imperiality, royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to anoth ...

in 1956 and died in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in 1958.

References

Bibliography

External links

Gouverneurs du Congo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jungers, Eugene 1888 births 1958 deaths Colonial governors of Ruanda-Urundi Alumni of the Athénée de Luxembourg Governors-general of the Belgian Congo University of Liège alumni 20th-century Belgian judges Belgian people of Luxembourgian descent People from Messancy Belgian Congo judges