Hendrik "Rik" Cornelis (September 18, 1910–1999) 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 ...

who served as the final

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

of 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 ...

from 1958 to 1960. His term ended with the independence of the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

. Cornelis was born in Bevere, near

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality ...

, in the Belgian province of

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

on 18 September 1910. He gained a doctorate in economic science from the

University of Ghent Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

, also spending a year at the

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (, abbreviated IHEID), commonly referred to as Geneva Graduate Institute, is a graduate-level research university in Geneva, Switzerland dedicated to international relations, dev ...

in Geneva. He joined the Belgian colonial administration in

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 ...

in 1934 and later served in various roles in the Congo. He was promoted to vice-governor-general of the Belgian Congo in 1953. He became the governor-general on 12 July 1958, being the first Dutch-speaking appointee to the role. After the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960, Cornelis served as an advisor to Justin Bomboko during his presidency of the College of Commissioners established by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu.

References

;Sources *

External links

Cornelis, Rik
in NEVB Online

Archive Henri Cornelis
Royal museum for central Africa 1910 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Belgian civil servants Governors-general of the Belgian Congo People from Oudenaarde Ghent University alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni {{Belgium-bio-stub

References

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External links