Albert Jean Julien François, Baron Lilar (21 December 1900 – 16 March 1976) was a Belgian politician of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and a

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Early life

Lilar was a renowned lawyer of

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

and International Private Law in Antwerp, and Chairman of the International Maritime Committee. He was also a Professor of Law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish government. listof all ...

Career

In his political life, Lilar was a member of Parliaments for the liberal party, Senator of the

Arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

Antwerp (1946–1971) and four times

(1946–1947, 1949–1950, 1954-1958 en 1960-1961). He became

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

in 1969. Under the

Gaston Eyskens Gaston François Marie, viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC). He served thr ...

Government (1958–1960), Lilar was Vice-premier of the Cabinet. As Vice-Premier, he was elected president of the Round Table in 1960 whose discussions lead to the independence of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

. A great humanitarian and defender of

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

, no death penalties were carried out under his terms as minister of justice.

Personal life

He married in 1929 the writer Suzanne Lilar (née Vebist), and fathered 2 daughters : writer Françoise Mallet-Joris (b. 1930) and the 18th century art historian Marie Fredericq-Lilar (b. 1934).

Legacy

The Albert Lilar Prize from the Comité Maritime International is awarded for a leading work on maritime law published in any language in the world during the previous five years.

External links

Biography and Inventory of the Liberal Archives Albert Lilar
(in Dutch)
The Round Table - CongoMore on The Round Table - CongoPostwar Western Europe 1955-1956Postwar Western Europe 1956-1957Independence of the Belgian CongoAnti-Nazi activities 1936-1939FAIB website
1900 births 1976 deaths Politicians from Antwerp Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten politicians Belgian Ministers of State Barons of Belgium Belgian Ministers of Justice {{Authority control