Fernand Paul Jules Spaak (8 August 1923 – 18 July 1981) was a

Belgian 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 languag ...

lawyer and diplomat.

Life

The son of

Paul-Henri Spaak Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman. Along with Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer he was a leader in the formation of the ...

and Marguerite Malevez, he was born in

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and was educated at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

and at the Université libre de Bruxelles, receiving a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

from the latter institution. From 1950 to 1952, he worked for the

National Bank of Belgium The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; nl, Nationale Bank van België, french: Banque nationale de Belgique, german: Belgische Nationalbank) has been the central bank of Belgium since 1850. The National Bank of Belgium was established with 100% pr ...

. In 1952, he became chief of staff to Jean Monnet, president of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community. Then, in 1960, he assumed the position of director general for the Agence d'approvisionnement Euratom. From 1967 to 1975, Spaak was director general for the

Directorate-General for Energy The Directorate-General for Energy (DG Ener), or ENER, is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, created on 17 February 2010 when it was separated from the Transport DG, with which it had been combined since 2000. Mission The Director ...

(DG XII). From 1976 to 1980, he was

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

for the European Economic Community Executive Commission in the United States. In April 1981, Spaak initiated the Paul-Henri Spaak Lectures, named in honour of his father, at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. In 1953, Spaak married Anna-Maria Farina in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

; the couple had three children. His daughter Isabelle became a journalist and author. His sister

Antoinette Spaak Antoinette Spaak (27 June 192828 August 2020) was a Belgian politician and leading figure within Francophone and regionalist politics in Brussels. She was born into a noted political family and entered politics as part of the regionalist Democra ...

was head of the Democratic Front of Francophones.

Death

Spaak was shot dead in his flat in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in 1981 by his estranged wife with a hunting rifle; she had previously threatened to kill him on a number of occasions. She then replaced the rifle in its bag and committed suicide by electrocuting herself with an electric iron in a bath. At the time of his death, Spaak was chief of staff for

Gaston Thorn Gaston Egmond Thorn (3 September 192826 August 2007) was a Luxembourg politician who served in a number of high-profile positions, both domestically and internationally. Amongst the posts that he held were the 19th Prime Minister of Luxembourg ...

, then president of the European Commission.

References

1923 births 1981 deaths Belgian civil servants People murdered in Belgium Deaths by firearm in Belgium People from Forest, Belgium Alumni of the University of Cambridge Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Mariticides Belgian expatriates in the United Kingdom {{Belgium-bio-stub