Roger Dekeyzer (18 June 1906 – 16 December 1992) was a Belgian trade union leader. Born in

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

, Dekeyzer became an English teacher, and the unpaid secretary of the Socialist Union of Education Workers of West Flanders. In 1925, he joined the

Belgian Workers' Party The Belgian Labour Party (, , BWP; , , POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party achieved its first electoral breakthrough in the aftermath of World War I. It was officially disbanded after the German invasi ...

, and from 1928 he served on the executive of its Ostend branch. In 1935, he began working full-time for the

Belgian Union of Transport Workers 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 ...

(BTB), as deputy secretary of its West Flanders district. The following year, he was promoted to become district secretary, and also secretary of the union's coastal area car drivers' section. In 1939, Dekeyzer was elected to both the Ostend Municipal Council, and the West Flanders Provincial Council. He fled to the United Kingdom early in

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 worked organising Belgian sailors there. He became active in the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership o ...

(ITF), and was placed in charge of organising Belgian, Danish, Dutch, Polish and French transport workers in Scotland. Dekeyzer returned to Belgium at the end of the war, and was elected as secretary of the

General Federation of Belgian Labour The General Labour Federation of Belgium (, , FGTB; , , ABVV) is a socialist national trade union federation in Belgium. It was founded in 1945. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation and has a membership of 1.5 million ...

(ABVV). He also served as general secretary of the BTB and of its ports section, and as secretary of the

Belgian Socialist Party The Belgian Socialist Party (, , PSB; , , BSP) was a social-democratic political party which existed in Belgium from 1945 to 1978. During its time in office, a number of progressive social reforms were introduced. The BSP was founded by activists ...

's Ostend district. He soon moved to

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, and in 1952, was elected to the municipal council, then in 1954 to the provincial council, and finally in 1958 was elected to 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 ...

. In 1955, Dekeyzer was appointed as vice-president of the ABVV, then as president the following year. Omer Becu, president of the BTB, left to work for the ITF, and Dekeyzer's role of general secretary was merged with that of president of the union. He was also elected as vice-president of the ITF, then in 1960 became president of the ITF. Dekeyzer retired from his trade union and political posts in 1971, but remained on the boards of various organisations for the next decade. He died in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dekeyzer, Roger 1906 births 1992 deaths Belgian Socialist Party politicians Belgian trade unionists Members of the Senate (Belgium) People from Ostend