Fernand Paul Jules Spaak (8 August 1923 – 18 July 1981) was a Belgian lawyer and diplomat.

Life

The son of

Paul-Henri Spaak Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman who thrice served as the prime minister of Belgium and later as the second secretary general of NATO. Nicknam ...

and Marguerite Malevez, he was born in

Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

and was educated at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and 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 ...

, receiving a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the latter institution. From 1950 to 1952, he worked for the

National Bank of Belgium The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; , NBB; , BNB; , BNB) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Belgium within the Eurosystem. It was the Belgian central bank from 1850 until 1998, established by law of and issuin ...

. In 1952, he became chief of staff to

Jean Monnet Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, and administrator. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the founding fathers of t ...

, president of the

High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community The High Authority was the executive branch of the former European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). It was created in 1951 and disbanded in 1967 when it was merged into the European Commission. History The High Authority was at the core of th ...

. Then, in 1960, he assumed the position of director general for the Agence d'approvisionnement Euratom. From 1967 to 1975, Spaak was director general for the

Directorate-General for Energy The Directorate-General for Energy (DG Ener), or ENER, is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, created on 17 February 2010 when it was separated from the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, Transport DG, with which it had ...

(DG XII). From 1976 to 1980, he was delegate for the European Economic Community Executive Commission in the United States. In April 1981, Spaak initiated the Paul-Henri Spaak Lectures, named in honour of his father, at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. In 1953, Spaak married Anna-Maria Farina in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

; the couple had three children. His daughter

Isabelle Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

became a journalist and author. His sister

Antoinette Spaak Antoinette Spaak (; 27 June 192828 August 2020) was a Belgian politician and leading figure within Francophone and regionalist politics in Brussels. She was born into a noted political family and entered politics as part of the regionalist Dem ...

was head of the

Democratic Front of Francophones Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Death

Spaak was shot dead in his flat 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 1981 by his estranged wife with a hunting rifle; she had previously threatened to kill him on a number of occasions. She then replaced the rifle in its bag and committed suicide by electrocuting herself with an electric iron in a bath. At the time of his death, Spaak was chief of staff for

Gaston Thorn Gaston Egmond Thorn (3 September 192826 August 2007) was a Luxembourgish politician who served in a number of high-profile positions, both domestically and internationally. He most prominently served as prime minister of Luxembourg (1974–19 ...

, then

president of the European Commission The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...

References

1923 births 1981 deaths Belgian civil servants People murdered in Belgium Fernand Spaak Deaths by firearm in Belgium People from Forest, Belgium Alumni of the University of Cambridge Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Mariticides Belgian expatriates in the United Kingdom Children of prime ministers of Belgium {{Belgium-bio-stub