Leo Delcroix
Minister of Defense
In office
7 March 1992 – 8 December 1994
Preceded byGuy Coëme
Succeeded byKarel Pinxten
Member of the Flemish Parliament
In office
1995–1999
Member of the Senate of Belgium
In office
1991–1999
Personal details
Born(1949-11-21)21 November 1949
Kalmthout, Belgium
Died2 November 2022(2022-11-02) (aged 72)
Genk, Belgium
Political partyCVP
EducationUniversity of Antwerp
KU Leuven
Limburg Universitair Centrum

Leo Delcroix (21 November 1949 – 2 November 2022) was a Belgian Flemish politician.[1] He was a member of the Christian People's Party (CVP).

Biography

Political career

Delcroix earned a degree in classical philology from the University of Antwerp, a law degree from KU Leuven, and later studied economics at the Limburg Universitair Centrum. In 1984, he became national secretary of the CVP and served as a co-opted senator in the Senate from 1991 to 1995. On 7 March 1992, he became Minister of Defense within the Dehaene I Government, a mandate in which he suspended mandatory conscription. He also carried out reforms within the Belgian Armed Forces with a considerable reduction in the number of soldiers, weapons, and barracks and froze the military budget for five years. He was a founding member of the Eurocorps and increasingly deployed the Belgian Armed Forces for operations in Yugoslavia, Somalia, and Rwanda.

In 1995, Delcroix was elected to the Flemish Parliament, where he remained until 1999. He was also appointed a community senator, a position he held from June 1995 to June 1999.[2] During that time, he was also a Quaestor within the Senate. Delcroix was considered to be on the right side of the CVP and repeatedly questioned the cordon sanitaire within the Vlaams Blok.[3][4] In 1999, he retired from politics.

After politics

In January 2001, Delcroix became director of the Maastricht School of Management. He resigned in October 2003 following his criminal conviction for his role in the "Milieubox affair".[5] He received a boarding premium of 150,000 euros.[6]

In April 2010, Delcroix succeeded Paul Kumpen as vice-chairman of De Vlaamse Waterweg,[7][8] a position he held until 2020. In September 2010, he succeeded Theo Kelchtermans as chairman of Hasselt University.[9] He resigned in October 2019 due to health concerns and was succeeded by Jo Vandeurzen.[10]

Controversies

In November 1994, Delcroix was criticized over his ownership of a villa in Bormes-les-Mimosas, France, and unreported employment for workers who were employed at the residence. After the insistence of CVP party leader Johan Van Hecke, he resigned from his role as Minister of Defense.

Delcroix was mentioned in multiple judicial investigations related to illegal party financing, such as the Milieubox affair, the Smeerpijp Limburg-Antwerpen affair, and the Superclub-KS affair. However, he was not officially charged in most cases. However, he was found guilty by a tribunal of first instance in 2003 of forgery of documents for his role in the Milieubox affair. On 30 June 2004, he was acquitted by a court of appeal because the offenses were time-barred.

In 2013, Delcroix was again accused of misconduct in relation to the Belgian delegation at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, for which he was questioned by the Court of Audit.[11] The Court stated in 2013 that "so many rules were broken that control of the finances was simply impossible".[12][13] Despite this, he was appointed Commissioner General for Expo 2015 in Milan two years later.[14] The Court of Audit again criticized the management of the Belgian delegation at the Expo in 2017.[15]

Death

Leo Delcroix died on 2 November 2022, at the age of 72.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Lechien, Alain (4 November 2022). "L'ex-ministre Leo Delcroix, membre du CD&V, est décédé à 72 ans". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "Leo Delcroix - CVP". Senate (in French).
  3. ↑ "Leo Delcroix (CD&V) werkt liever samen met Vlaams Blok dan met Agalev". De Morgen (in Dutch). 10 November 2003. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "Tegenstanders cordon blijven overtuigd". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 22 April 2004. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "Maastrichtse managementschool wil Delcroix terug". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 1 July 2004. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  6. ↑ "Maastricht School of Management: school van vriendendiensten". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). 14 January 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "Willy Claes en Leo Delcroix aan hoofd van nv De Scheepvaart". De Morgen (in Dutch). 19 April 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "Bourgeois I gooit socialisten uit cockpit Vlaamse overheid". De Tijd (in Dutch). 20 December 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "Leo Delcroix wordt voorzitter Universiteit Hasselt". De Standaard (in Dutch). 15 September 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "Jo Vandeurzen ook voorzitter UHasselt". De Standaard (in Dutch). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  11. ↑ Vlemings, Joeri (30 June 2012). "Rekenhof ondervraagt Leo Delcroix over Belgisch paviljoen Shanghai". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  12. ↑ El Mabrouk, Farid (17 January 2013). "Rekenhof keihard voor organisatie expo Sjanghai". De Standaard (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "Rekenhof keihard voor Leo Delcroix". Knack (in Dutch). 17 January 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  14. ↑ "Delcroix ondanks kritiek Rekenhof toch naar wereldexpo Milaan 2015". De Standaard (in Dutch). 6 March 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  15. ↑ Lambrix, Yves; Gyssels, Arnout (5 December 2017). "Weer is er kritiek op het Belgische paviljoen op Wereldtentoonstelling. En weer is het met Leo Delcroix". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  16. ↑ Winckelmans, Wim (4 November 2022). "Leo Delcroix, de man van Atoma-schriftjes en milieuboxen". De Standaard (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 November 2022.
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