Lieutenant General Eugène De Greef (31 August 1900 – 14 February 1995) was a Belgian
Minister of Defence, serving under two successive Belgian prime ministers (first
Pholien, then
Van Houtte) between 1950 and 1954. His tenure coincided with
Belgian intervention in the Korean War, as well as important negotiations about the
European Defence Community
The Treaty establishing the European Defence Community, also known as the Treaty of Paris, is an unratified treaty signed on 27 May 1952 by the Inner Six, six 'inner' countries of European integration: the Benelux countries, France, Italy, and We ...
.
Background and career
De Greef was from a Walloon family
De Greef and the Korean War
Though De Greef was not the minister who took the decision to send Belgian soldiers to the
UN mission in Korea, he held office through the entire duration of the conflict.
De Greef's predecessor (
Henri Moreau de Melen
Eugène Ernest Marie Henri Moreau de Melen (20 August 1902 – 31 May 1992) was a Belgian soldier and politician, most notable for holding the position of Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence. He resigned his office and served with the ...
of the
Christian Social Party) resigned his tenure early to volunteer to serve in Korea. De Greef's own son, Captain Guy de Greef (described as "a superb officer") commanded C Company of the
Belgian Volunteer Corps in Korea in 1953, at the
Battle of Chatkol
The Battle of Chatkol (also known as the 55 Nights of Chatkol) was the name given to the series of skirmishes between United Nations Command (UN) and Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) forces near the village of Chatkol at the centre of the Iro ...
.
Other events
De Greef was involved in the negotiations of the
European Defence Community
The Treaty establishing the European Defence Community, also known as the Treaty of Paris, is an unratified treaty signed on 27 May 1952 by the Inner Six, six 'inner' countries of European integration: the Benelux countries, France, Italy, and We ...
and
North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Under De Greef, Belgium promised to contribute 12 soldiers out of every 1,000 inhabitants. Compulsory military training was increased to two years from one and total army strength increased to 150,000 men.
[http://astheysawit.info/4146-1951-belgium-and-belgian-congo.html]
References
External links
Cabinet of the Pholien Government, 1950-1952A. Maurits van der Veen, ''Defending Integration or Integrating Defence? Ratifying the EDC in Belgium and the Netherlands,'' University of Georgia (2009) - Negotiations in which De Greef took part
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Greef, Eugene
Belgian Ministers of Defence
1900 births
1995 deaths