Georges Debunne (2 May 1918 – 21 September 2008) 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 ...

trade union leader. Born in

Menen Menen (; french: Menin ; vls, Mêenn or ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem. The city is situated on the French/Be ...

, Debunne qualified as a teacher, and worked in Halle, joining the trade union. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was elected as full-time secretary of the civil engineering section of the

General Union of Public Services The General Union of Public Services ( nl, Algemene Centrale der Openbare Diensten, ACOD; french: Centrale Générale des Services Publics, CGSP) is a trade union representing public sector workers in Belgium. The union's origins lie in four union ...

, then as national secretary of its civil service section. In 1956, he was elected as president of the union. In 1968, he was elected as general secretary of the

General Federation of Belgian Labour The General Labour Federation of Belgium (french: Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique, or FGTB; nl, Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, ABVV) is a socialist national trade union federation in Belgium. It was founded in 1945. It is affiliated ...

, and also as a vice-president of the

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when ...

. In 1983, he was elected as president of the

European Trade Union Confederation The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and ...

(ETUC). He retired in 1985, becoming secretary of the ETUC's Federation of Retired and Elderly People. In 2005, Debunne was a founder of the small

Committee for Another Policy The Committee for Another Policy ( nl, Comité voor een Andere Politiek, french: Comité pour une Autre Politique), abbreviated to CAP, was a Belgian left-wing political movement that was established in 2005, and became a political party in 2006. ...

political party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debunne, Georges 1918 births 2008 deaths Belgian trade unionists People from Menen