André H.P. Cools (1 August 1927 – 18 July 1991) was a Belgian politician and a senior figure within the Walloon
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
(PS) in the
Liège
Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège.
The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
region. He was assassinated in 1991 and the subsequent investigation uncovered widespread graft within Belgium's two socialist parties.
Political career
Cools had a long and distinguished political career. He was the Belgian budget minister from 1968 to 1971, Deputy Prime Minister from 1969 to 1972, head of the
Walloon section of the Belgian
Parti Socialiste (PS) from 1973 to 1978, chairman of the national party from 1978 to 1981, president of the Walloon Council from 1982 to 1985, and minister of the government of the Walloon Region from 1988 to 1990. He was also given the honorific title of
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 o ...
in 1983. In 1990 he retired from the national political scene after an internal power struggle within the PS but he remained influential in the local party in Liège.
Cools was noted for his pithy pronouncements. For example, when in 1984 he commented on who he thought the four greatest United States presidents had been, he said: '
Roosevelt
Roosevelt may refer to:
*Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president
* Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president
Businesses and organisations
* Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation)
* Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank
* Rooseve ...
, Roosevelt, Roosevelt and Roosevelt'.
His nickname was "''Le maître de
Flémalle
Flémalle (; wa, Flémåle) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
On January 1, 2006, Flémalle had a total population of 25,140. The total area is 36.68 km² which gives a population density of 685 inha ...
''" ("Master of Flémalle"). Cools had been mayor of from 1964 to 1977 and after the merger with Flémalle from 1977 until his death.
Assassination and aftermath
He was shot dead in
Liège
Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège.
The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
in 1991.
While the police were investigating the assassination, several scandals involving André Cools became public (like the
Agusta-affair).
In 2003, a Liège trial started, accusing Richard Taxquet (former personal chauffeur and secretary for , a Parti Socialiste minister), Giuseppe "Pino" di Mauro, and others of involvement in the Cools murder. In January 2004, Taxquet and di Mauro were sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment.
[Maesschalck and Van de Walle, 2006.]
See also
*
Belgian general strike of 1960–1961
*
Belgian political scandals
This is a list of political scandals in Belgium from 1830 to present.Lieven De Winter, "Political corruption in Belgium." in ''Corruption in Contemporary Politics'' (Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2003). 93-105.
List of scandals
* Victor Jacobs af ...
*
Parliamentary inquiries by the Belgian Federal Parliament
The Senate also had a right to enquiry until 2014. Committees of inquiry were rarely set up until 20 years ago, and have been used increasingly in the recent past, dealing with matters deemed of major public concern or apparent governmental failur ...
References
Works cited
*
Sources
André Cools
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cools, Andre
1927 births
1991 deaths
Assassinated Belgian politicians
Belgian Ministers of State
Belgian Socialist Party politicians
Deaths by firearm in Belgium
Socialist Party (Belgium) politicians
People from Flémalle
People murdered in Belgium
Walloon movement activists
Walloon people of Flemish descent