Gaston C. S. A. Geens (10 June 1931 – 5 June 2002) was a Belgian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

minister-president of Flanders The Minister-President of Flanders ( nl, Minister-president van Vlaanderen) is the head of the Flemish Government, which is the executive branch of the Flemish Region and Flemish Community.See the communities, regions and language areas of Belgiu ...

. Geens received a Master in Law from the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

as well as a licentiate of economy. In 1961 Geens, together with Frank Swaelen and

Leo Tindemans Leonard Clemence "Leo" Tindemans (; 16 April 1922 – 26 December 2014) was a Belgian politician. He served as the prime minister of Belgium serving from 25 April 1974 until he resigned as minister on 20 October 1978. He was a member of the Chri ...

, was part of a think tank of the CVP. In 1972 he became a member of the party leadership. Geens was elected a member of the city council of Winksele in 1970. After Winksele's fusion with

Herent Herent () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the villages and former municipalities of Herent proper, Veltem-Beisem and Winksele. On January 1, 2016, ...

in 1976 he became a member of that city council. In 1974 in a government led by Tindemans, Geens became Secretary of State for the Budget and Science. In 1976 he was promoted to minister but with the same competences. He became

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

in the second Tindemans cabinet, but this coalition fell over the

Egmont pact The Egmont pact ( nl, Egmontpact; french: Pacte d'Egmont; german: Egmont-Pakt) of 1977 is an agreement on the reform of Belgium into a federal state and on the relations between the linguistic communities in the country. The pact was not carried o ...

. He remained

under

Paul Vanden Boeynants Paul Emile François Henri Vanden Boeynants (; 22 May 1919 – 9 January 2001) was a Belgian politician.
Rulers. Retrieved 30 August 2014.< ...

and in the first two coalitions led by

Wilfried Martens Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian People's Party, during his premiership ...

. During the third government led by Martens he again became minister of the budget. During Martens IV, Geens became minister-president of the Flemish Executive which he led until 1992. Geens gave Flanders a new economical identity, by taking the initiative for the ''Derde Industriële Revolutie in Vlaanderen'' (Third industrial revolution in Flanders), Flanders Technology and the Flemish Aerospace Group (FLAG). Gaston Geens was seventy when he died at home due to

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

. On 30 May 2009, a statue of Geens was unveiled in

Aarschot Aarschot () is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Aarschot proper and the towns of Gelrode, Langdorp and Rillaar. On January 1, 2019, Aarschot had a total popul ...

Herman Van Rompuy Herman Achille, Count Van Rompuy (; born 31 October 1947) is a Belgian politician, who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 2008 to 2009 and then as the first permanent president of the European Council from 2009 to 2014. A politicia ...

.Gaston Geens krijgt standbeeld in Aarschot at hln.be
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References

External links

Gaston Geens
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ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures

Archives of Gaston Geens
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ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures

Archives of Gaston Geens
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ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
1931 births 2002 deaths Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Belgian Ministers of State Finance ministers of Belgium Christian Democratic and Flemish politicians Ministers-President of Flanders People from Flemish Brabant {{Flanders-politician-stub