Henri "Rik" Joseph Boel (5 September 1931 – 13 November 2020) was a Belgian politician and a judge.

Biography

Henri Boel was born in

Tienen Tienen (; french: Tirlemont ) is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises Tienen itself and the towns of Bost, Goetsenhoven, Hakendover, Kumtich, Oorbeek, Oplinter, Sint-Margriete ...

on 5 September 1931. In 1954 Boel graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven as a Doctor Juris. From 1954 to 1986 Boel was active as a lawyer. In the municipal elections of 1958 Boel was elected a city council member for the BSP in Tienen and served until 1986. He became mayor of the city in 1964 and served until 1976, and again from 1983 to 1986. Boel was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 1965, and re-elected in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, 1971, 1974,

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

and 1978. From 3 June 1977 to 20 October 1978, Boel served as the

minister of the interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in the government led by

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 Chr ...

, and his successor

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

. Boel became Speaker of the Cultural Council in 1979 (the predecessor of the Flemish Parliament) and, after it was reformed into the ''Vlaamse Raad'', remained its speaker until December 1981. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

Boel was elected to the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parli ...

. After he was appointed as a judge in the

Court of Arbitration A Court of Arbitration is a court, sometimes outside of the official judicial system of a country, that resolves certain kinds of civil disputes, primarily between industrial or commercial entities, or between employers and employees. The Court o ...

in 1986, Boel resigned all his political mandates. Boel served on the Court from 1986 until his retirement in 2001. From March 2001 until his retirement in September 2001, he served as President of the Dutch linguistic group on the Court. Boel died on 13 November 2020 at home in Tienen.

References

External links

Profile of Henri Boel at the website of the Flemish Parliament
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boel, Rik 1931 births 2020 deaths Constitutional Court of Belgium judges 20th-century Belgian judges Members of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Interior ministers of Belgium Members of the Senate (Belgium) Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Flemish lawyers Mayors of places in Belgium People from Tienen